


The Not So Secret Life of a Chocobo

by Asylos



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood Drinking, M/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-24 12:46:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 38
Words: 42,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9727466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asylos/pseuds/Asylos
Summary: Cloud has a boyfriend. His boyfriend is a vampire.[I've upped the rating on this to M to match Asreoninfusion's story as I consider it required reading. This is the same AU, but a slightly different parallel reality. It's a "could have been". So read her work at http://archiveofourown.org/works/9713375/chapters/21911417 ]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Bite Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9713375) by [AsreonInfusion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsreonInfusion/pseuds/AsreonInfusion). 



> Dragged cackling with glee into Asreon's vampire au, the first words I've written since November...
> 
> Bouncing off off 3am thoughts here https://violentcollisionofstars.tumblr.com/post/157243163474/i-cant-get-back-to-sleep-so-ive-been-laying-here
> 
> I've upped the rating on this to M to match Asreoninfusion's story as I consider it required reading. This is the same AU, but a slightly different parallel reality. It's a "could have been". So read her work at http://archiveofourown.org/works/9713375/chapters/21911417 ]

When his train stopped abruptly with a violent squeal of metal, Cloud knew the night just wasn't going his way. He was already jittery enough with Zack gone on mission. Being stranded in the slums was just the latest in a long string of bad luck setting his nerves on edge. 

The conductor gave him a sympathetic look, but he was even worse off since he had no choice but to stay with the train until a maintenance crew arrived. Cloud at least could get moving, maybe get to a better area before the sun fully set. He shouldered his bag and set about doing just that. He heard the conductor seal the doors behind him. Cloud hoped they would help protect the poor man. 

Cloud pulled his PHS out of his pocket and pulled up the map, getting his bearings as quickly as he could. He did not want to stay in one place for too long. He also did not want to know what kind of puddle he had stepped in while exiting the train. It was far too squishy to bear thinking about. 

He almost made it out into the city proper. Almost was never good enough though. Almost was the land of abandoned dreams and missed connections. No tales are ever told about the hero that almost saved the day. 

The first sign that things were going bad was the reflection of a shadow in a broken shop window. Just the slightest shading on the metal frame. It was the most warning he got before he was surrounded. 

"Well, well. What a pretty little bird. Don't often see your type chirp chirping about in these parts."

Cloud said nothing, but stood his ground as the group circled about him like ravenous wolves. 

"Lookit those eyes, Alymer. I think this one is someone's lost pet."

"Don't smell like he belongs to no one. Did you lose your master and come looking for your fix, little bird?"

"I suggest you leave, now." The new voice carried with it a deep growl. The circling vermin stopped, looking up to the top of the shop they had stopped next to. A tall silhouette stood framed against the setting sun, long hair floating in the wind, parallel with a long, thin blade that the figure held in hand. 

"Is this one yours then? You should take better care with your pets. You can't follow them all the time. Come on, boys. There's easier prey about tonight."

The figure leapt down from the roof, landing directly in front of Cloud, who stumbled backwards and kept scurrying in that direction until he was stopped by a sudden wall. Green eyes glowed at him as the sun passed below the horizon. 

"You shouldn't be out here on your own," the voice said. The tone was much softer now. "Zack was right to worry about you getting into trouble." There was a quiet chuckle. "You make far too tempting a target."

"You know Zack?"

"Yes. He asked me to look out for you while he was away."

"Well he didn't tell me anything about that."

"He didn't want to worry you unnecessarily. Come. We should get you home."

"I'm supposed to trust you, just like that, and follow you Gaia knows where?"

"Would you feel more comfortable if we called Zack?"

"If Zack really asked you for help, then you know he's not somewhere he can just answer the phone."

The figure chucked again. "He would not ignore a call from me." He pulled out a PHS of his own and dialled a number before switching it to speakerphone. It only took one ring before the call was answered. 

"Shit, Seph, is Cloud okay?"

Cloud sighed in relief. It was Zack. No doubt in his mind. 

"He is currently, but rightfully did not trust my intentions."

"Cloud?"

"I'm here, Zack. Sorry to bother you."

"No need to apologize, Spike. But you can trust Seph. He'll keep you safe. I've gotta go but you're in good hands. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay."

"Love ya, birdbrain."

Cloud smiled, "Love you too." The call ended. "Alright, let's get out of here."


	2. Safety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seph and Cloud have a snack, safe at home.

"Are you alright?" Sephiroth asked cautiously. 

Cloud nodded, "I'm fine." He then promptly fell over with a soft thump. 

Seph smiled softly as he picked up the small blond. He extended his wing and took to the sky. 

He landed on his balcony with what Genesis told him was "dramatic flair" despite his only audience being unable to watch. He needed the practice, and it always felt strange to land dramatically alone. But carrying someone? Well, that was the point of it, wasn't it?

The balcony door was still open from his trip out (never leave by the front door when you don't want it on camera), so he marched in and gently set Cloud on the couch. He prepared a glass of water and some snacks, leaving them on the coffee table. (Angeal had been teaching him about snack foods, and he was quite enamoured with the idea. He even had a stash in his office now.)

Seph sat down on the couch, put a pillow on his lap, and pulled Cloud forward till his head was safety on the pillow. If he started trashing about, he would be able to keep him from falling or hurting himself. Or from knocking over the carefully arranged snacks. 

He raised the boy's left wrist to his mouth and very gently bit. He drank slowly but far more messily than he normally would, licking often to smear more mako laced saliva onto the skin. Gradually Cloud's eyes began to blink open. Then came the expected panic. 

"Calm," Sephiroth said firmly in his most authoritative voice, using his free hand to keep the boy from moving away. "You need more mako in your system. You collapsed from withdrawal." He sighed at the look of confusion Cloud gave him. "Zack didn't talk to you about this either, did he?"

Cloud shook his head. "I think he was just too excited that I wasn't leaving because he's not human. And then this mission came up and he had to go."

Seph helped Cloud to sit up, very slowly, while keeping hold of his wrist. "This is why relationships with humans are so dangerous." He licked at the blood pooling around the bite. "You're all so fragile."

Cloud watched intently as Sephiroth's tongue lapped against his skin, "Why is that making me feel better? I should really be freaking out right now. I don't even know who you are..."

"I'm a friend of Zack's and he asked me to look after you. That is the important part. As to why this is making you feel better, Zack should have had this conversation with you before he left." Satisfied that the blond seemed steady enough, Sephiroth sat back a bit further to give him some space. 

Cloud accepted the glass of water and plate of snacks that Sephiroth passed him and eagerly chomped on a pretzel. "He didn't though. Can you fill me in?"

Seph nodded and took the plate back to set it on the table. 

"We're back!"

Cloud turned towards the opening door and froze, not unlike a deer caught in the headlights of a truck. (He always wondered why they did that. Did they think the truck couldn't see them anymore and would suddenly turn around? Or that if they stayed still it would make the right decision to adjust its course to veer away from them? Did it matter right now? Pay attention to what's going on, damnit. You really are a bird brain sometimes, Cloud.)

"Oh my. Who is this delectable looking morsel?" the auburn haired arrival asked as he set down the grocery bag he was carrying. 

A larger man with dark hair that reminded Cloud of Zack stepped around the man. "Judging by that hair, I'd say it's Zack's little chocobo. Did he run into some trouble?"

Seph nodded to him, "A small matter."

They both moved over to the couch. "I see you've had a snack. Is he as delicious as the puppy likes to brag?"

"Genesis! That's very rude," the dark haired man scolded. He held out a hand to Cloud, "Angeal is the name. I hope Zack has mentioned us at least?"

Cloud took the hand nervously and shook it, shaking his head at the same time. 

"Zack has been very lax in educating his friend," Seph stated, "and it has put him in unnecessary risk."

"I know he meant to, he's just been really busy!"

"You don't have to defend him, dear," Genesis said as he took a seat on the other side of Cloud. 

Cloud scrunched in on himself a bit. "D-do you have to sit that close? It's a little overwhelming in here..."

Genesis smiled softly at him, "Actually yes. And Sephiroth should move a bit closer too. It's been four days, you don't smell like Zack anymore. You need to smell like you belong to something bigger than you."

"Why?"

"Because the world is full of scavengers who think it's easiest to take someone else's food," Angeal explained as he took a seat in the chair opposite. "Zack has been feeding off of you enough that it's pretty obvious to those who know the signs. That makes you easy prey to some vermin. I'm guessing that's what the trouble was tonight?"

Seph nodded, "That, and mako withdrawal. He collapsed on the way here."

"Zack never did know how to do things in half measures. All or nothing with that boy. Too much enthusiasm." Angeal smiled down at the snack plate and held it out for Cloud to take another piece. 

Genesis reached out and placed his hand on Cloud's forehead. Cloud started to flinch away but bumped into Seph and stopped. "Just relax, dearest. We aren't going to hurt you. You're a bit feverish. Have some more to eat then take a nap. We can fill you in on all the little details your beloved Zack forgot once you're feeling better."

"I'm fine. I really should be getting home." Cloud started to stand but Sephiroth quickly put his hands on his shoulders and pulled him back down. 

"You're not leaving," he said firmly. He could see the panic starting to spread on Cloud's face again and hurried to explain. "Zack charged me with looking after you and I will not fail in that duty. You are in no condition to be wandering the streets at night."

"He's right," Angeal added. "It would be safer for you to stay here. And you're definitely going to need more mako before you level out. I'm surprised you made it this long before crashing."

"I-"

"Shhh," Genesis said, placing a red gloved finger against Cloud's lips. "Quiet dear. You're going to stress yourself out. Sleep now."

Cloud felt himself slipping into darkness, felt Sephiroth catch him and pick him up again. He caught a glimpse of a soft bed through his heavily lidded eyes, and then he was out for the count.


	3. Wakey Wakey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally someone explains something to the lil chocobo.

Cloud woke slowly with his arms around something that smelled like but definitely wasn't Zack. It was the wrong shape, too small, far too squishy, and not warm at all. He opened his eyes cautiously and was surprised to see something very familiar. The stuffed chocobo he had give Zack years ago after winning it at the carnival. He had wondered what had happened to it, but thought Zack had lost it and was too embarrassed to admit it. He gave the toy a tight squeeze. 

A soft chuckle made him look up past the side of the bed to find Sephiroth in a chair, book in hand. "Genesis thought that might help. Something familiar. Zack sleeps with it when he's here."

"Has anyone ever told you it's creepy to watch strangers sleep?"

Sephiroth laughed, "You must be feeling better now." He stood and set the book he had been reading down on the chair. "Feel up to breakfast? Angeal has been cooking." He held out a hand. 

Cloud grabbed the offered hand and let Sephiroth pull him to his feet, still clutching the chocobo under his other arm. He stumbled a bit, falling against the taller man. "Still a bit woozy." He let Sephiroth put his arm around him and guide him out to sit at the dinning room table. He downed the glass of water set before him before resting his head on his arms on the table. He dozed, faint sounds of conversation not quite making it through, until the smell of bacon was unavoidably in front of him. His stomach growled as he sat up. 

Angeal slid the plate closer to him and handed him a fork. The smell was amazing, and reminded him of the breakfast Zack had made for him after the first time he'd fed from him. He took the fork and dug in, trying very hard to ignore the three men watching him as they sat around the table. 

"Thank you, Angeal. That was amazing," Cloud said sincerely as he pushed the now empty plate back. The dark haired man smiled at him as he collected the dish, and Cloud found himself smiling back. Then he met Genesis' gaze. 

The auburn haired man was watching him intently, scrutinizing him like he was a specimen in some lab. It gave him the chills, and he couldn't help but look away from those intense, glowing eyes. 

"Cloud, has Zack explained to you how vampires feed?" Sephiroth asked. 

Cloud nodded, "He explained about feeders and life energy, and how that's what you really feed on."

"Did he explain about how mako helps with the process?"

Cloud shook his head. 

"In the simplest terms," Genesis piped in, "Our saliva is full of it. It helps to heal the wound afterwards. It's also addictive as a survival tactic. Keeps the feeder coming back, whether they realize why or not."

"I'm not-"

"Hush. I'm not insinuating that's why you're still with Zack. He does have some positive qualities. The fact is, however, is that a regular feeder does become addicted and will suffer the side effects of going without. Like it or not, you're a junkie whose supplier is out of reach."

Cloud crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "Well that's my problem to deal with then. Thank you for breakfast, but it really wasn't necessary." He stood abruptly and started for what he hoped was the front door, and not just a closet. He could ask Zack to get his book bag back when he was home again. 

"Cloud, sit back down," Sephiroth said with concern. 

"Let him try, Seph. He's a stubborn one," Genesis sighed, watching as Cloud made it halfway to the door. He was not surprised when Sephiroth was already there to catch the boy as he collapsed. 

Angeal rested his hand on Genesis' shoulder. "Maybe let Seph handle this one. You two seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot."

Genesis grumbled under his breath but nodded. "Very well. But if he doesn't sort this out soon, I will step in and get that boy enough mako to leave like he wanted to. Zack should be back in a couple days and he can deal with it."

"You're just cranky because you're hungry."

"You're probably right. As always." He leaned his head against Angeal and sighed again.

Sephiroth carried Cloud back to the guest room, with the stuffed chocobo under his arm, closing the door behind him with his foot to drown out the conversation in the other room. He laid the boy down on the bed and sat on the edge beside him. He gently tapped him on the cheek to try to wake him. 

"Hrmph?"

"Cloud, you're suffering from lack of mako. Zack explained how feeding effects you..."

Cloud's face went red as he buried it into the pillow. "He told you that? Oh Gaia, does everyone know?"

Sephiroth hesitated, "Zack trusts us with the things he cares about." 

The blond groaned. "I guess that's a yes." He felt Sephiroth shift uncomfortably on the bed. 

"I do not wish for this to be unpleasant for you, but Zack is still going to be away for at least another day or two and you need mako exposure or you will get weaker, and feel more sick."

Cloud held up his hand without moving from his burrow. 

"This would take longer than using an artery with a larger surface area would..." Sephiroth said reluctantly. "It would be better, quicker, if we used a more central site."

Cloud pushed himself up onto his knees and sat back. "How do you want to do this then?"

"May I?"

Cloud nodded and let Sephiroth pull him into his lap, leaning his back against the taller man's chest. "I'll try to make this as quick as safely possible."

"Whatever." 

Sephiroth frowned, but he knew it had to be done. He tangled his fingers into the blond spikes and tilted Cloud's head to the side. He felt the boy tense against him, but it was a weak reaction. He didn't have the strength to fight it. Sephiroth pressed his fangs against his bared neck and bit as gently as he could. An instinctive, predatory part of him thrilled at the gasp Cloud made, and he felt him relax against his chest as he drank. 

Trying to focus on making the situation as easy as possible for his guest, he was caught off guard at the soft moans Cloud was making as he was fed from. "No wonder Zack is so reluctant to share you," he said quietly as he licked at the wound.

When the bite had closed up, he lay Cloud back down on the bed, tucking him under the covers with the little chocobo toy. Satisfied he was safely and comfortably asleep, he snuck back out of the room and closed the door. 

Genesis and Angeal were curled up together on the couch when he found them, and both looked up expectantly. 

"He will be alright when he wakes up."

"And?" Genesis prodded. 

Sephiroth sighed as he squished himself between them. "Yes, he really does taste that good. I wonder if we could convince Zack to share..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Sefikura bias is showing. Sigh. Zack will be getting home soon though.


	4. The Lap of Luxury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What trouble could Cloud possibly get up to when left alone?

Cloud woke slowly with his arms around something that smelled like but definitely wasn't Zack. He groaned. "This again?" He cracked an eye open to check the chair beside the bed but it was empty save a folded piece of paper with his name on it. The place seemed quieter too. 

He grabbed the paper, and a bottle of water that was left on the nightstand. He could see a sandwich there as well, with another bottle that had a blue liquid in it. The water was quickly polished off to ease his dry, aching throat. Still under the covers, he unfolded the paper. The letter was very neatly written. He hadn't expected otherwise. 

/  
I apologize for my absence when you awake, but there has been an emergency to which I am required to attend. Please stay as long as you like. You are welcome to anything in the fridge. The tv is also at your disposal. I should return at six, with Zack if all goes as expected. You are welcome to wait here for us, if you do not need to be elsewhere.   
/

Cloud fumbled in his pocket for his PHS to check the time. Already noon. Thankfully it was the weekend so he hadn't managed to sleep through work. (He wasn't sure how he'd explain all this to his boss. But then again, it was Shinra. Even if it was just the engineering department, they probably knew. It had only taken a couple days before someone had taken him aside to discuss the change in his relationship with Zack. Nosey buggers.)

After sitting up against the headboard, he grabbed the sandwich and the blue drink. He checked the label and found it was some kind of sports drink. He remembered Zack's talk about replenishing lost fluids and electrolytes. Hopefully this "blue raspberry" concoction tasted better than his stupid celery and spinach juice. The sandwich looked to be a simple ham and cheese on incredibly fresh bread. There were little packets of mayonnaise and mustard beside it on the plate, along with a disposable knife and fork set. He chuckled at the idea of vampires saving the spare condiments and utensils from take out food. The sandwich did not survive contact with its captor long. It was quickly devoured. It couldn't hold a candle to the breakfast Angeal had made, but it was pretty damned good, and enough to keep him going long enough to find the kitchen. But first, he really needed a bathroom...

"Oh sweet glorious Gaia..." Cloud's jaw dropped to the floor, (metaphorically speaking. [An important distinction.]) as he walked through the door to the bathroom. His eyes couldn't decide what to settle on. The shower had caught his gaze first. It seemed bigger than the communal shower rooms when he'd been in the infantry. Then there was the tub. 

He ran his fingers along the marble outlining it, trying to guess just how many gallons of water it could hold. It even had seats built into the sides. Seats!

Cloud glanced at his PHS again. It was only 12:30. No one was expected back until six... he had spare clothes in his bag... there was bubble bath in the cupboard next to the sink.... (Yes, he was being a nosey little bugger, and you should just keep your damn mouth shut about it, thank you very much. Can you honestly say you never look in the bathroom cupboards at a new place?)

It took nearly a half hour before the gigantic tub was filled to his satisfaction with steamy hot water and soft violet bubbles. Lavender, the bottle had said. It smelled nice, and that was all that mattered. Surely the master of the house wouldn't notice a capful missing. And if he did? Well, he brought it on himself by not taking Cloud to his own place. 

Cloud climbed into the tub, and melted. He needed this tub in his life full time. He'd never afford it on a low rank engineer salary. Could he sell a kidney to get one? Surely the labs would pay for good organs. Something to look into later. Now, now was for bubbles. 

When all was said and done, he'd spent an hour and a half in the tub, and the water was still warm. He'd have stayed longer if his stomach hadn't started growling in demand. He pulled the plug and let the water drain out around him. A quick splash of water cleaned up the bubbles that stuck to the sides of the tub still. He dried off with a towel he'd found in another cupboard and snuck it in under the top layer in the dirty laundry hamper in the corner. After changing into his spare clothes, he headed to the kitchen. 

There were more of the ham sandwiches in the fridge, so he grabbed one to munch on. He found himself gravitating to the sink full of dirty dishes and set about cleaning them. It was a bit too quiet though, so he switched the tv on, found some cartoons, and turned it up enough to hear over the dish water. It took some trial and error to find the right cupboards to put everything away in, but he was satisfied with the job he'd done. 

He picked up the stuffed chocobo off the table where he'd left it, and flopped over onto the couch. Before he knew it, he'd fallen asleep, feet dangling over the arm of the sofa. 

At six on the dot, the front door opened, and two bloodstained and tired men stepped through, shedding their boots on the mat. 

"Did you leave the tv on?" Zack asked quietly. 

Sephiroth chuckled, "Cloud must have decided to wait for us."

Zack's face brightened. Then he looked down at his filthy clothes. "I'll just give him a wave and then we can hop in the shower." He peeped around the wall into the living room and smiled. "Out like a light," he told Seph. "Let's get cleaned up before we wake him."

"A sound plan. I could use your help getting these behemoth bits out."

"Never fear, the mighty Zack is here to detangle your delicate hair." He smirked and closed the bathroom door behind them.


	5. Circuit Overload

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunited, in the smoothest possible way.
> 
> I've upped the rating on this to M to match Asreoninfusion's story as I consider it required reading. (Also, I don't know if this might need a higher rating going forward anyway.) This is the same AU, but a slightly different parallel reality. It's a "could have been". So read her work at http://archiveofourown.org/works/9713375/chapters/21911417

Cloud woke suddenly, and reeeeaaalllly needed the bathroom. He tried to remember how much he'd drank before going to sleep. Had he been out drinking? Everything was a bit fuzzy. He stumbled to his feet in the dim light from the flickering television and started towards where he remembered the bathroom being. He could hear water running inside, but that just made him more desperate to get to the toilet. He pictured the layout of the bathroom and was pretty sure he could sneak in and get to the toilet without being seen. It had been a bit separated from the rest of the place. 

He pushed the door open slowly and crept in. The sound of voices drifted over to him and he froze in spot. 

"You taste like you've been feeding on my boyfriend..."

It was clearly Zack. Zack in the shower. Zack in the shower with someone else. Zack, his boyfriend, in the shower, with not him. 

He crept a bit further forward, not trusting what he had heard. Clearly he was hung over and imagining things. 

He was not imagining things. 

There was Zack. Naked. In the shower. With Sephiroth. Who was also, predictably, naked. And Zack was very clearly biting Sephiroth's neck. It was... amazing. Cloud felt his face flush. The door clicked suddenly behind him as it finished closing and the pair turned in his direction. A drop of blood trickled from the corner of Zack's mouth. 

It was all too much for poor Cloud's overwhelmed brain. His brain which was commenting on the pattern of the off-white paint of the ceiling right before his head hit the tile and the lights went out completely. 

 

Cloud was getting sick of waking up to things. This time felt more familiar and pleasant though. His head was on a soft, warm lap, and there were gentle fingers stroking his hair. The smell of a freshly cleaned Zack was very strong, and he was sure that explained where he was. 

"Hey bird brain, you okay?"

Cloud started to nod, but it made everything feel like it was spinning, and he hadn't even opened his eyes yet. "Maybe not so okay just yet."

Zack leaned over and kissed his forehead. "You certainly gave us quite a scare."

Us? Oh. Right. They weren't alone. This wasn't even their apartment. Cloud apologized and tried to sit up, but Zack insisted he stay put. It was hard to turn down that request when it was so damned comfortable where he was anyway. There was nothing quite like having someone you cared about playing with your hair. 

He heard footsteps approach and felt the soft light of a cure descend upon him. It was a strange, itchy feeling at first. He hadn't had a chance to get used to it the few times he'd received one in training, or at work when someone's new project went a bit awry. He hadn't even realized how much his head was hurting until the pain stopped. With a soft sigh, the tension left his muscles and he relaxed. 

"I guess I screwed up a bit with all this," Zack said apologetically. 

Cloud heard Sephiroth snort. "That may be your biggest understatement to date, Zachary."

"Are you okay there or do you want to sit up?" 

"Here is nice," Cloud said, patting Zack's thigh next to where his head rested. He opened his eyes and was delighted to see the goofy smile on his beloved's face.

"I think I owe you both dinner at this point. Seph filled me in on what happened and what he's told you. I should have had that conversation with you long before I got sent out of town."

"Yes, you should have. In fact, you should have had it before you started a relationship at all," Sephiroth scolded. 

Zack sighed. "Yeah. Listen, there are ways to safely kick mako addiction if you want-"

"Shut it. You're stuck with me," Cloud quickly interrupted, awkwardly tapping Zack's face in semblance of a slap. He was far too relaxed in this position to manage the effort required to properly express his opinion of the idea he might want to leave.

Zack got the point, however, and chuckled. "Alright. I think I can live with that."

Cloud glanced over at Sephiroth when he heard the man's PHS vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out of his pocket, glanced at the screen, and hit a button before leaving the bathroom. 

"Alright!" Zack said enthusiastically. "Pizza! Come on sleepy head. Let's get some grub." He have Cloud another quick kiss on the forehead before helping him sit up. 

Cloud turned around and offered Zack a hand up. He accepted, pulling Cloud into a tight hug once he was on his feet.


	6. Fear is the Mind-killer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who wants pizza and existential crises?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The important notes: I've upped the rating on this to M to match Asreoninfusion's story as I consider it required reading. This is the same AU, but a slightly different parallel reality. It's a "could have been". So read her work at http://archiveofourown.org/works/9713375/chapters/21911417 (and not just cause I said so. It's damned good reading.)
> 
> The apology:  
> So I have this problem. I call it the 5k block. For some reason when a story gets to bear 5k, my brain often kicks it out. Bye bye. You're not finishing that one. As of last chapter, we were less than 200 words from that dreaded point. So I got to work at 7am (yaaaay) and started trying to think of what would happen next. And it was like an epiphany. I had the perfect scene. But I couldn't write it. By the time lunch rolled around at 2, it was gone. Vanished from the mind space. When I got off work at 5 and started writing on the bus.. well. It was angst central. This chapter feels as disjointed as Cloud's thoughts, which I suppose is fitting. But it's coming around to where it was supposed to be. 
> 
> (Stop writing notes. You could be writing story in this time.)
> 
> ((Shut it brain. I have to apologize for your word vomit.))

Zack reluctantly broke the hug and took Cloud's hand, leading him out to the dinning room where Sephiroth had set out the pizza and some plates. "Seph, this is my boyfriend Cloud. Cloud, this is my friend and coworker, Sephiroth."

Cloud grinned, "Goofball." He held out a hand to Sephiroth and they shook. "Nice to meet you."

"There, started over the right way." Zack plopped down on one of the chairs. Cloud pulled out the chair next to him but Zack grabbed him and pulled him into his lap, nuzzling the back of his neck. "Smells like home." Cloud giggled at the tickling sensation. 

The three of them grabbed slices of pizza and started to eat. 

"So, is there anything else you've neglected to tell me?" Cloud asked in between bites. 

"I love you?" Zack said.

Cloud snorted, "Nice try." He set the rest of his third pizza slice down on the plate. "I still need the bathroom, so I'm going to go do that before it's too late. Maybe your friend here can help you figure out how you're going to make this whole thing up to us."

"Awww, don't go, Spike!"

Cloud peeled Zack's fingers off his arms. "It's the bathroom Zack. It's not like I'm leaving for half a week."

"Ouch."

Cloud closed the bathroom door behind him and made quick use of the facilities. Then he turned on the sink faucet and let the hot water steam up the mirror. "What the hell am I doing?" He leaned his head against the foggy glass. 

What would happen next time Zack left in a mission? What if he and Sephiroth were both gone? Would he just collapse in his apartment and have to hope someone came back before it was too late? Oh Gaia, what if he didn't ever come back? They were out there fighting monsters and the good guys don't always win. How many fellow cadets had he seen sent home in bags during his short time in the army? 

His PHS beeped out a steady gong on the counter where he had set it. The familiar ring tone told him exactly who it was. He picked it up and laughed at the picture. His friend Jessie was bent over the hood of an old truck, steam pouring out of the engine cavity. Using a fancy font filter, Tifa had added text over the image. "Oh man... a breakdown? Now?"

He texted back asking if they were okay. They had left on their road trip just last week, headed back to Cloud and Tifa's home town so she could introduce her girlfriend to her family. 

"We'll be fine. Wish you were here so someone competent could fix the truck."

A different tone sounded, this one the roar of a loud engine. "She's using text to talk so I know what she said. She's in for it later. Still, it's a shame you couldn't come. Next time?"

He almost texted back "definitely" but realized that wasn't the case after what he'd learned. "I'll see if Zack and I can sync our vacation time with you for the next one."

"If not, I'll call in a bomb threat and get you out of work. :D"

"Don't get yourself arrested just to get me a vacation. :P"

"She's giving me the stink eye. I better fix this hunk of junk before I get in more trouble. Later!"

Cloud slipped the PHS back into his pocket. He went to splash some water on his face and was quickly reminded that he'd only turned on the hot. Ouch. He turned it off completely and sighed. 

A timid knock came from the door. "Cloud? Are you okay?"

He wasn't sure if he was relieved or not that it was Sephiroth and not Zack. "Yeah, I'll be out in a minute."

"Call if you need anything."

Cloud reached out and smeared the condensation from the mirror. He watched as his reflection became visible and marvelled at the faint glow in his eyes. Was this what Angeal had meant about it being obvious he was a feeder? He knew his eyes hadn't been quite so bright a month ago. Everything was changing and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. He loved Zack. There was never any doubt in his heart or mind about that. But could he handle all the extras that would come with that? 

He started to feel like the longer he was away from Zack, the worse he felt about it all. Why had he even gone to the slums yesterday? (Was it yesterday? It felt like it had been days ago. Too many bouts of unconsciousness make the days seem strange.)

"Cloud?"

He jumped. How had Zack gotten behind him without him even noticing the door? 

"You're shivering like crazy, what's wrong?" Zack put his arms around him and held him. 

Cloud didn't answer. His teeth chattered. Zack picked him up and started moving quickly to the other room. "Seeeeppphhh! Something's wrong."

He felt a hand on his forehead but his eyes refused to focus on who it was attached to. 

"Crashing again. He seems to be stressing out and it's burning through the bit of mako he had in him."

"What do we do?"

Sephiroth guided Zack to the couch and gestured for him to sit down with Cloud. "Feed on him. Get some mako in his system and distract him from whatever he is stressing about."

"Cloud, can you hear me?" 

"Zachary, if you are distressed that will make things worse, not better. Focus on fixing the situation. Worry about it later."

"Right." He brushed away the hair that was stuck to Cloud's sweaty forehead and kissed it softly. He adjusted their position to better support Cloud's weight, leaning the smaller frame against him, then bit down on his neck. 

Cloud's body reacted immediately, arching against him. His eyes seemed more glazed than foggy almost straight away. His eyes blinked rapidly. "Zack?"

"I've got you Spike. How are you doing?" He licked at the bite.

"Don't die, Zack." His words were slurred. 

"I wasn't planning on it," he replied, taken aback. Was that what Cloud had been worrying about? "Same goes for you though. You need some heavy duty mako, lil chocobo. How do you feel about Seph helping out too?" 

Cloud's face flushed. He weakly held out a wrist to the silver haired man as he took a seat on the couch with them. 

Sephiroth lifted the wrist to his mouth and licked across the skin before biting down. Cloud shivered, but it wasn't from withdrawal anymore. Zack chuckled at his reaction. "I think he likes it."

"Zack?" Cloud said, sounding exasperated. 

"Yes dear?"

"Just bite me."


	7. Float Up From Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zack takes Cloud home before he does something he might regret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Asreon posted chapter 3 of Bite Me! (Direct link http://archiveofourown.org/works/9713375/chapters/22028597 ) Check it out for the smutty goodness and info about vampire feeding and Shina's involvement in this mess. (Remember, this is a parallel version of that world.)

Cloud was feeling pretty damn good with how things were going, despite the recent breakdown. He was feeling the most stable he had in days. (He figured that was due to the mako in his bloodstream getting back to the normal amount it was when Zack was feeding on him regularly.) 

He was also feeling pretty damn good about the way Zack was nibbling on his neck, after he had unbuttoned Cloud's shirt and slid it off him. And Sephiroth licking blood from his wrist was, quite frankly, pretty damn hot too. When he started this relationship with Zack, Cloud had finally admitted to himself, and accepted that he had some unusual ideas on what made for a good time. The lightheaded feeling of blood and energy loss. The helpless feeling of the lack of control. He could only enjoy it with someone he really, completely, trusted, and despite his recent screw ups, he still trusted Zack that way. 

Cloud reached up and slid his free hand into Zack's hair, tugging on it. The dark haired man growled against his neck and bit harder. Cloud leaned his head black against Zack and moaned happily. Zack licked the newest wound to encourage it to heal. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sephiroth move. The silver haired man kissed his way up Cloud's arm, leaving bloody stains like red lipstick. When he reached Cloud's shoulder, he was nearly touching noses with Zack. 

Suddenly the pair were kissing. Cloud watched with open desire as the two smeared his blood between them, licking and biting at each other's lips. "That is so hot..." Cloud muttered. Zack laughed and pulled away from Sephiroth to kiss Cloud. 

Cloud could taste his blood on Zack's tongue, could taste Zack himself, could taste what he could only assume was Sephiroth's unique essence. 

"Feeling better?" Zack asked, grinning. 

"Uhuh," Cloud said, nodding enthusiastically. 

"You should probably take it easy though, you've had a rough couple of days."

"Do I have to?"

"Mmhmm. I think we should get you home. I don't want to push you into something when you're not really capable of making decisions."

"But the bathtub..."

He heard Sephiroth laugh at that. "You are most welcome back at any time, Cloud."

"Okay. Carry me home? Walking sounds terrible.."

"Absolutely," Zack replied.   
\--

"I don't want to sleep. I've been sleeping for daaaayss."

Zack laughed as he tucked Cloud into their bed, burritoing him with the blankets. "Seph picked you up Friday. It's now Saturday night. You haven't even slept one day."

"It sure as hell feels like it," he grumbled. 

"If feeling overslept is the worse side effect of this little adventure, then we're doing really well."

"Why didn't you tell me about all this before you left?" Cloud asked. 

Zack sat down on the bed beside him. "Because I'm an idiot. That's the simplest answer."

"Yeah, you are."

"I was just so glad to have you here, I didn't want to deal with things that might put a downer on the mood. But you have to suffer the consequences of my cowardice, and that is not fair to you."

"So what happens now?"

"If you still want to stay, after all this-"

"Don't even go there, Zack. I already said you're stuck with me and I mean it."

Zack laughed, and his shoulders sagged in relief. He lay back on the bed beside Cloud and took his hand in his own. "Gen knows more about this stuff than I do. He'll never let me forget how much I screwed up, but he'll help if we need anything."

"So what do you know?" Cloud awkwardly rolled over in his burrito of blankets so he was facing Zack, and leaned his head against the soldier's shoulder. 

"If I leave town for more than a day, you're probably going to need to spend some time with Seph or one of the other guys... There's not really any other safe way to get mako in the proper format. There's no way of getting any from the labs anymore. And they say the symptoms of going without hit harder the next time."

"Don't we have a giant mako reactor just around the corner?"

Zack smiled, "Yeah, but that's not safe to touch. In that format it'll dissolve flesh. Not that Shinra has ever disposed of corpses in mako..."

"You need to practice your lying or the PR department will never put you on tv," Cloud teased. "You're right though. The mako we use in engineering is all marked as corrosive."

"There's mako down there?"

"What did you think they power all the fancy mechs with?"

"Huh. Guess I never really thought about it. Anyway, there's never a time when all four of us are out of town, so there's always someone you can stay with. Gen's got a big place topside."

"I don't think Gen likes me very much," Cloud confessed. "I didn't make a very good impression."

"Nah, Gen's a big softy. He was just worried. And pretty pissed at me. He thinks you're cute." Cloud blushed and Zack reached over to ruffle his hair. "Well you are. When you're feeling better, we'll get together, do dinner and watch a movie or something, so you can meet everyone properly."

"I don't want to be a burden on your friends..."

"Hey now, no one thinks you're a burden. And it's not like they aren't getting something out of it too."

"I suppose that's true." Cloud yawned despite his best effort not to. 

Zack patted him on the head, "Get some sleep Spike. I'll make you breakfast in the morning."

"You better. Breakfast in bed even. You've got a lot of apologizing to do."

"You're going to milk this for all it's worth, aren't you," Zack chuckled. 

"Damn straight."


	8. There's No Place Like Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud finally gets to wake up in his own bed again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short post today. I've spent the day loaded up on painkillers while editing. I'm worded out.

It was nice waking up in his own bed again. The smell of bacon was drifting in through the open bedroom door. Cloud untangled himself from the blankets and stretched before grabbing his PHS off the nightstand. He had three missed messages, and one missed call. He drank the glass of water Zack had left for him before reading them. 

The first two messages were from Tifa and Jessie, letting him know they'd gotten the truck fixed and made it to their first planned stop. Tifa's message included a picture of the restaurant they were eating at. 

The third message was from an unknown sender, but the text indicated it was from  
Sephiroth and he saved the number. /Hope you are feeling better. You are welcome to come by any time you want to borrow the tub. With or without Zack./

The voice mail was from his mother, saying she had heard Tifa was on her way into town and that she would be sure to send a care package back with her. 

Cloud climbed out of bed and changed into a clean t-shirt and pants. They were soft, fuzzy pants. He wouldn't be caught outside in them, but they were perfect lazy Sunday pants. 

He headed out to the kitchen and walked up behind Zack, who was in the middle of buttering toast. He slid his arms around him in a tight hug, leaning his head against the taller man's back. 

"Good morning, sunshine. How are you feeling?"

"Famished," Cloud said without moving. 

Zack chuckled and Cloud could feel the vibration in his chest. "It's a bit difficult to serve you breakfast in bed if you're not in bed."

"Just gimme a minute to use the bathroom and I'll be back there."

Cloud placed a quick kiss between Zack's shoulder blades then headed to the bathroom. 

He stared at their small tub with built in shower with distain. He had seen what a real tub was like. He could never be happy with this tiny tub again. After doing his usual morning routine, he headed back to bed and quickly hopped in, leaning against the headboard. 

Zack was only moments behind him with breakfast for two on a tray. Cloud frowned at the glass full of green liquid that he recognized as the spinach and celery juice Zack was so fond of giving him after a heavy feeding. He knew better than to complain about that though. He definitely needed the nutrients after the last couple days. He couldn't help but make a face at the taste though. 

The rest of the stuff on the tray looked much better. Zack slid into the bed beside him and they both dug in. 

"Oh," Cloud started suddenly while munching on a piece of bacon, "Mom's sending cookies back with Tifa and Jessie."

"Sweet! Your mom makes the best cookies."

"She does. Maybe I'll share some with you," Cloud teased. Zack gave him an offended look. "So got anything planned for today?"

"Mm. I was thinking of inviting this hot blond I know over for some video games."

Cloud snorted and nearly choked on a mouthful of scrambled eggs. Once he managed to safety swallow his food, he gave Zack a soft punch in the shoulder. "You're an ass."

"Yup. Now finish your breakfast so we can go play!"

Cloud picked up the last piece of toast, and started to munch on it. "Zack?"

Zack stopped in the middle of collecting the dishes into a pile. "What's wrong, Spike?"

"Am I gonna be okay?"

Zack grabbed his face in his hands and kissed him tenderly on the forehead. "Absolutely. I've just gotta take better care of you and make sure you get your mako." He licked the tip of Cloud's nose to make his point. 

Cloud giggled and shoved him away. "Get these dishes done, manservant. I call dibs on first player."


	9. Just Another Day at the Office

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud is back to work for some peace and quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want some world building info? Asreon posted a bunch of stuff here: http://asreoninfusion.tumblr.com/post/157458172700/vampire-au-headcanons
> 
>  
> 
> Posting this one a bit early in case there isn't a chance to later.

Zack made a point of walking Cloud to work the next day. Even if it was the same building. He had wanted Cloud to call in sick, spend the day safe at home, but he knew he couldn't skip work to stay with him, and at least he'd be closer this way. If there was an emergency, he had no issues jumping out the window to get to the lower levels faster. He wasn't sure why he was so worried, but he was. 

Cloud put up with the extra attention without complaint, but there was no denying he was happy to finally have some alone time with one of his projects. Well, as alone as he could get when there were coworkers in the area. Biggs and Wedge were good people though, and knew when to give him space. 

He headed straight for the drafting room, and rolled out a crisp new sheet of grid paper. He turned on the projector and a set of blueprints appeared over the paper. This was one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of his job, trying to find the problems that were plaguing his coworkers' projects. With their work as a starting point, he could draw on the paper what he thought should be there and look for discrepancies. And he was damned good at it too. He'd had an interview just last week for a supervisor position. (He hadn't told Zack yet, he wanted to wait to see if he got it first. Better to have something to celebrate than build up expectations and let everyone down.)

After an hour of sketching out the connecting parts, the intercom sounded. 

"Strife."

Cloud pressed the button to reply, "Go ahead, Biggs."

"We've got a problem. You'd better come out here."

Cloud sighed. He'd been so close to a breakthrough on this one. After switching off the projector, he headed out to the main garage where he knew Biggs had been working. Once there, he found his friends and their supervisor gathered around a terminal. Biggs gave him a worried look as he approached. 

"It's sabotage," Wedge was saying to Jared, their supervisor, "there's no way they'd do that on their own. It's not even in their programming to know how!"

"What's happening?" Cloud asked. 

"What's happening," Jared said, "is Wedge's bots at the reactor have gone rogue."

"Well shit. Any damage?"

Jared shook his head, "The reactor is still secure but we've lost three of the staff. I need you to go in and shut them down. Grab your kit."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Biggs asked, concerned. "There's gotta be a way to do it remotely."

"Tried it," Wedge bemoaned. "That's another reason I think it's sabotage. Something at the reactor is jamming the signal."

"So we're looking at the possibility there's someone there still," Cloud stated. 

Jared nodded. "Which makes you the only one of the team qualified to go in. You've got combat training. You can look after yourself. These two idiots wouldn't make it past the front door without pissing themselves."

"That's harsh," Biggs said. 

"But not untrue," Wedge sighed. 

Cloud nodded, "Give me a few minutes to get ready, and get me a ride there."

Jared grabbed his PHS from his pocket and moved away from the others to make the necessary calls. 

"I wish Jessie was here," Wedge muttered. 

Cloud was quick to reply, "Don't you dare message her about this. She's on vacation. And Tifa will kill me if we mess it up for them."

Wedge held his hands up defensively, "I wouldn't!"

"Good. Now do me a favour, if Zack comes by, just tell him I'm offsite doing repairs or something."

"You want us to lie to your boyfriend?" Biggs asked incredulously. 

"If he's worried about me, he's not going to be focused, and that could get someone hurt in his line of work. Anyway, you might be lucky and he'll be offsite too." Cloud rummaged about in his supply cabinet till he found his emergency repair kit and secured the messenger style bag across his chest. A quick stop at his locker to grab his sword, and he was ready to go. He already had the bot schematics saved in his PHS. 

Jared was just getting off the phone as he walked back. "Alright, there's a bike on the way to take you over."

"Perfect," Cloud said as he slipped on his goggles. "I'm good to go."


	10. Looks Clear...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud investigates the reactor. Nothing bad ever happens in a reactor, right?

It wasn't Cloud's first time in this particular reactor. He knew the layout. Step one was getting to the security room. Wedge figured the signal jamming was just focused on communication out of the reactor, so there was a good chance the cameras and intercom were still working. He needed to see if he could find out where everyone was. There were still staff unaccounted for. Most had made it out, thankfully, which is how they had even known what was happening. 

Cloud found his way to the staff entrance and swiped his ID card. He waited for the hand scanner to light up, and pressed his palm to it. (He wondered why they never installed this level of security at the front door. It's not like anyone from the public should be going in the damned reactor.)

The door clicked open and he slipped inside while putting his glove back on. The inside hallway felt more like a tunnel, and was dimly lit just by the soft glow of the red emergency lighting. It was quiet except for the expected machinery hum of a reactor at work. His heavy boots made his footsteps echo a bit more than he wanted. (Safety boots were even better than his old combat boots really. Steel toed, electrically grounded, waterproof. And damned expensive. Worth every gil though. They paid for themselves the first time your coworker dropped their mech off the jack onto your foot, or dropped a live wire into a puddle while you were helping to fix said mech in the pouring rain. He'd even bought a pair for Wedge after that fiasco.)

The tunnel started heading downward, and he took the path that branched off to the left. It wasn't long before he reached the security room. He had seen no sign of anything moving so far, human or robot. Not that the bots should ever be in this part of the building. 

He repeated the process from the outside door to get into the security room. It was empty. Cloud frowned. There should have been at least one guard in it at all times. It even had a built in bathroom and kitchenette so there was no excuse to leave during your shift. This was starting to look like an inside job. 

The cameras were still working. Cloud ignored the chair, it would be too awkward with the sword clipped to his back, and found the controls. He flipped through the different cameras, looking for anything that seemed out of place. The maintenance bots seemed to be gathered in the lobby. He could see dark smears and puddles on the floor around their feet and he wasn't sure if it was better or worse that the camera feed was only in black and white. He could guess what happened to the missing staff. 

Cloud pulled out his PHS. The screen was angrily declaring that there was no signal. He turned it over and popped open the battery compartment, pulling out the battery to reach a switch beneath it. Once reassembled, he flipped it back over and smiled. 

He dialled Wedge's number. 

"Cloud? How are you calling out?"

"Remember that time Jessie borrowed everyone's PHS to test something?"

"What did she do? I never noticed anything different."

"Signal modulator. I'll show you how it works later. I think we can keep ahead of the jamming with it though. Listen, I found the bots via video in the lobby. Is it worth trying the bypass again from inside the reactor?"

Wedge sighed, "Probably not. I didn't want to mention it in front of Jared, you know I'm already on probation.."

"Spit it out, Wedge."

"I think I left out the code to make the bypass work."

Cloud rubbed his eyes with his palm. "... Alright. Manual override it is."

"I'm sorry, I've been such a screw up lately, ever since, you know, and I-"

"Stop beating yourself up over it. We can hit the bar and talk about it later, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks," Wedge said, the relief clear in his voice. 

"Alright, I'm going to head in. Don't call me, I don't want to draw attention. I'll call you if I need something."

"Got it. Good luck, Cloud. Kick ass, like usual. Shit. Oh hey Za-" Click. 

Cloud slipped his PHS back in his pocket and took another quick look at the cameras. Nothing was moving. Not even the bots, which should have been patrolling if they aren't doing repairs or back in their storage bay. 

The path to the lobby was clear as well. It was making Cloud nervous. He had been expecting a fight by now. (It would have been a great chance to work out some frustration.) The staff door to the lobby was open. 

The red lighting cast the stationary bots in a sinister light. Cloud kept to the shadows as he made his way in. There was a box in the centre of the room, resting on the red carpet that was meant to lead visitors to the reception desk. (Cloud wondered why they bothered with it when no one was allowed in. The desk had never been staffed. Had they planned on this being the "demo" reactor? Perhaps to show investors? But Shinra didn't need more money... Focus Cloud.)

He made his way to the box, a heavy feeling of dread growing with each step. Very carefully he lifted the lid. Then he pulled out his PHS and snapped a picture, sending it out. He dialled Wedge's number. 

"Wedge, give Biggs your PHS." He waited as he heard the device being passed around. "Biggs, I just sent you a picture. Please tell me you know what to do."

There was a pause as Biggs pulled out his own PHS to check. "Cloud, please get the fuck out of there right now."


	11. Bada Bing, Bada... Boom?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's only one thing to do in this situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I woke up at 2:30 am to finish this chapter apparently. Hopefully it's okay. :D

Zack entered the engineering division with a bag full of takeout in one hand. It wasn't quite time for lunch, but he was sick of paperwork already. It was Wutanese, of course, since that was where Seph had on speed dial and he'd been the one to order. 

He spotted one of Cloud's coworkers, (Wedge, right?) and headed over to him. He seemed to be on a call but looked to be ending it. 

"Oh hey Zack. How's it going? Smells like lunch!" Wedge said cheerfully. 

Zack nodded, "Right you are! I'm afraid o don't really know my way around here. Could you point me in the Cloudy direction?"

"Cloudy direction. Oh that's a good joke," Wedge laughed. 

A frown started to spread across Zack's face as he watched sweat drip down Wedge's forehead. "I'm full of them. So...?"

"Umm, well, you see..." Wedge started fidgeting with the PHS in his hand. "He's not here right now."

"He's not here..." Zack repeated. "And why is he not here?"

"Just a.. routine maintenance call off site."

"Is there a really good reason you're lying to me Wedge. I don't like to be lied to, Wedge." The fingers of his free hand twitched as he started stepping forward. His PHS rang. He knew the ring tone. 

"Cloud's not here Seph. Why is he not here?"

"Zackary, calm down."

"I am calm."

"No, if you were calm, I wouldn't be getting a call about your behaviour."

Zack turned away from Wedge and hissed in to his PHS, "This is completely appropriate behaviour when someone is missing."

"He's not missing, he's just out," Wedge commented, trying to help the situation. 

"I've got another call Zachary, hold on." There was a click then a pause. "Damnit Zachary put him down! You can't strangle Shinra staff."

Zack sighed, "Alright, alright." 

The sound of Wedge coughing could be heard in the background of the call. Sephiroth rubbed his temple. "Just find a chair and sit down, I'll be there shortly. We don't need reports going out that you've gone feral."

When Sephiroth reached the engineering level he found Zack sitting down in the supervisor's office, the bag of takeout on his lap, and a lost look on his face. "Why didn't he tell me he was going out?"

"He probably didn't want you to worry about him," Sephiroth suggested. "Lets go see if we can find out when he will be back."

"Okay."

As the walked into the main garage, Sephiroth saw the one Zack had described as Wedge dive out the door into one of the offices. He shook his head. Zack had really terrified the man. There was definitely going to be paperwork as a result of this, and he had every intention of making Zack do it. 

They found the one named Biggs easily enough. Sephiroth was about to ask him about Cloud when Wedge came running back in at full tilt, PHS in hand. "Biggs, you gotta take this call."

Biggs gave him a confused look. Why would someone call him on Wedge's number? He'd heard his PHS beep just a moment ago, so his was clearly working. He took the device. 

"Biggs, I just sent you a picture. Please tell me you know what to do."

There was a pause as Biggs pulled out his own PHS to check. "Cloud, please get the fuck out of there right now."

Zack grabbed Biggs' PHS from his hand and stared at the image on screen. "That's a bomb! Where the fuck did you send him that there's a bomb?"

Sephiroth grabbed the device to see for himself and gave Zack a concerned look. There were only two minutes on the timer, and the message had come in before Wedge had. Zack grabbed the other PHS and started shouting into it. 

\--

Cloud shoved his PHS back in his pocket without bothering to end the call and ran. Behind him the timer in the box counted down it's last seconds. He dove out the staff door and slammed the door shut behind him before starting to run again. 

There was a roar behind him and he dove around the first corner he could. Thick black smoke was crawling along the ceiling and what air he managed to breathe smelled heavily of gasoline. 

Shouting came from his pocket Ava he chanced pulling out his PHS as he continued towards the exit, slamming doors behind him as he went to try to hold off the oppressive smoke and heat.

"I'm okay. Everything is on fire, but I'm okay."

"Cloud, are you safe? Are you out of there?"

Shit. "Oh hey Zack. Everything's fine. We were just-"

"Shut up. Are you safe and where the fuck are you?"

Cloud sighed, "Almost out. Reactor 7. Bring a fire crew with you. I think the sprinklers melted."


	12. Home is Nowhere Without You Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunited and parted again.

Cloud gulped in the fresh air once he got outside and closed the last door behind him. (Fresh was relative of course. This was still Midgar.)

It wasn't long before Zack and the fire crew arrived, along with several other Shinra cars. Cloud headed to the fire crew first and filled them in on the state of things. He didn't want them rushing in and getting hurt if it could be avoided. 

Zack politely waited until he was done before grabbing him as tightly as he could with the sword still in place. "I'm so glad you're okay. What were you thinking?" He gently wiped the dark soot from Cloud's face. 

"I was doing my job, Zack."

"Maybe that's something we should talk about then."

"Yeah, well, you're going to have to wait till we're done talking to the kid."

Zack looked over at the source of the voice. Dark suit, bright red hair. "Reno. I don't think this is any of your business."

"Well, we kinda think it is. Something about, you know, someone leaving a firebomb in one of Shina's reactors."

Zack started to growl and Cloud grabbed his chin, turning him back to meet his eyes. "Hey. This is important. This was definitely an inside job and with Wedge's screw up they're going to think he set up a back door on purpose."

"Don't worry, we'll get him back to you before he turns into a pumpkin. Home by midnight, right?"

Zack nodded. "Do you want me to take your sword?"

Cloud shook his head, "Didn't you ever watch that kids show Shinra made? Turk Squad? Everything that's been in a crime scene is evidence." He took off the sword and handed it to Reno's silent partner, along with his bag. He gave Zack a quick kiss before following the man back to their car. 

Reno waited and watched Zack carefully. "You fed yet today?"

Zack looked at him in surprise. "I guess all the Turks know, don't they."

"Turks know anything that's Shina's business, and some that ain't. Answer the damn question, it's not a hard one."

"No."

Reno sighed, "Alright. We'll call you if things look like they're taking too long and you can pop by for a conjugal visit."

Zack snorted, but decided not to make any comments that might make Cloud's time in their company more difficult. "Thanks, but it'll be fine if you get him home on time. I'd rather you just get this over with." He watched Reno walk back to the car, watched it drive off with Cloud inside, then went back to his own ride for the lonely drive back to the office. 

Sephiroth was waiting for him when he got back to the office. He pulled Zack's lunch out of the small fridge and offered it to him. Zack took it and sat down. 

"Turks?"

"Turks," Zack confirmed. 

"He will be fine."

"You don't know that. I've seen what Turks do in their interrogations."

"Trust me, Zachary. They're not about to harm one of our best troubleshooters."

Zack made a questioning noise around a mouthful of noodles. 

"I take it neither of you discuss work at home?"

"Classified." 

Sephiroth nodded, "Very true, I just expected you to ignore the rules as usual. The engineering department generally has a few of what they call troubleshooters on staff. They are the people who find the problems and figure out how to fix them. Problems like the near melt down of reactor 6 last month."

"Did Cloud-?"

"Yes. He went in to fix the problem."

"But that thing could have exploded at any second!"

"Could have, but did not. Which is why troubleshooters are a highly prized resource for Shinra," Sephiroth explained. 

"Why do you know so much about Cloud's work?"

"Whenever a troubleshooter is up for promotion it goes through the board. Which you may recall I am a reluctant member of."

"Promotion!" Zack said with excitement. "Way to go Spike... does it come with an office and less leaving the building?"

"The opposite. High level troubleshooters are often sent out to work on site."

"Think I could convince him to quit? Not like I don't make enough to support us both."

"There are several problems with that idea."

"Such as?"

"For one, with everything you have told me about Cloud, he does not seem the type to sit at home and be kept. He wants to prove himself and carry his own weight."

"True enough," Zack sighed. "What else?"

"Two, Shinra needs good troubleshooters to keep everyone safe and alive. And three, there is no quitting the engineering department."

"What does that mean?"

"That means that every Shinra engineering employee has an unsigned kill order waiting in their file in the Turk offices."

"What?!" Zack sputtered, nearly choking on his food.

"Do you really think Shinra is going to let people who know its machinery inside and out just walk away? Cloud himself has spent enough time working on the reactors that he could probably build one from memory. The competition would snap up our people the second they left. Not to mention other unscrupulous individuals who would love to know the best way to destroy Shinra's property."

"Do they know about this?"

"If they read their contract they do."

"Well shit. So definitely not going to work."

"No."

"Annnd you don't think I should have even considered it."

"Very observant of you."

"So what, I'm just supposed to sit here and worry that something could happen to him?"

"Perhaps ask him how he handles you going to work everyday."

"That's not the same."

"Oh? We're not indestructible Zack."

Zack sighed in defeat, "You're right. This is all just so new still. Does it get easier?"

"You are asking the wrong person if you want relationship advice."

"Yeah, I suppose so." Zack swirled his fork in the rest of his cold noodles. "Hey Seph?"

"Hrm?" 

"If he's not back by the time we leave, could you come home with me to wait for him? I don't want to be there alone, and I don't want to freak out when he gets there..."

"As long as you are providing dinner."

Zack brightened a bit, "Absolutely. Pizza it is!"

Sephiroth groaned. "I should have expected as much. Perhaps we should invite Angeal along so we can have some proper food."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with pizza! 'Sides, I don't think Cloud'll want too full a house when he gets in. He likes you already, but the jury is still out on the rest of the group."

"Very well. I expect some form of garlic bread with it if I have to settle for where you normally order from."


	13. I Miss the Secrets Shared With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens. And there's some pizza.

"Look, I like you kid," Reno began, his hands open above the table. 

Cloud leaned his face on his hand, elbow propped on the table. "Really? That's what you're starting with? It really is just like the cartoon."

Reno sighed and took a swig of his coffee, barely suppressing a disgusted look at the taste. "I hate that fucking cartoon. Alright, let's play this straight then. Start at the top. What did Zack make you for breakfast?"

"You mean you don't already know?" Cloud snorted. 

Reno shrugged, "So what if we do? I want to hear all the details anyway. It could be important. Did he put on a little apron? I bet he doesn't wear anything under it."

"If you keep making comments like that about my boyfriend, I will stab you with that sword over there." He gestured over to where they had laid out his things.

"You any good with it?"

"I'd like to think so. Do you really want to find out?"

"Maybe some other time. Alright, skip breakfast. Start when the call came in."

"Biggs called me on the intercom, said there was a problem and they needed me in the garage."

"That happen often?"

"Unfortunately yes. Though not usually for something this big."

Reno jotted something down in his notebook. "What are the usual kind of problems?"

"Short circuits they can't figure out, needing an extra set of hands to manoeuvre something, dropped something tiny on the floor and can't find it. Typical machinery stuff."

"And you usually handle these problems?"

"When I can."

"Why?"

"It's my job to fix things. And they're friends."

"So how much of their work are you doing for them?"

"As little as possible."

Reno leaned forward over the table, "That's not a very straight answer. I thought we had agreed on straight answers."

Cloud sighed, "Look, they're good people. I don't want anyone losing their job."

"And you think no one is going to notice the quality drop when you get pulled for that promotion?"

Cloud pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes. "Yeah, you got me there. I don't know what I was thinking, of course they will. They can do better, they /will/ do better. They just need help once in a while, but that's not good enough for Jared."

"So you're blaming the supervisor for your coworkers' poor job performance?"

"You know what, I am. He's supposed to be there to support the team but he isn't. He doesn't make himself available for feedback or clarifications and just checks everything after they leave. We never really know if a project worked."

"So this Jared guy would have done the final check on these bots?"

Cloud's eyes widened. "You think..?"

Reno tapped his notebook with his pen. "I'm not at liberty to discuss the hypothesis of an ongoing investigation with a key witness."

"That fucking-"

"Language. This is being recorded. Don't want a black mark on your record for behaviour unbecoming of a Shinra employee, now do you?"

"Is that even a thing?"

"It can be if I want it to be. Now, tell me about the bomb."

\--

Cloud leaned his head against the apartment door with a thump as he rummaged for his keys. It was 11:55pm. Home by midnight, he thought to himself with a laugh, so the Turk was a man of his word still. He yelped as the door opened and he fell in. 

Zack was quick to catch him before he hit the floor. "Welcome home." Zack pulled his sword off and handed it to Sephiroth, who gently placed it in the empty slot in the rack. The general also closed the door for them as Zack dragged Cloud over to the couch. "Long day?"

Cloud laughed. "Understatement of the week."

"They didn't hurt you did they?" He asked, settling Cloud in his lap. 

Cloud shook his head. "Only my pride. Just tired. I get the morning off tomorrow though."

"Just the morning?"

"Yeah. Too much to do." Cloud looked over to the door where Sephiroth was picking up the bag he had dropped. A key pad locked box the size of a couple of stacked notebooks had fallen out of it when he'd fallen through the door. "Just toss that back in the bag."

"What is it?" Zack asked. 

"Turk business."

"You're not going to tell me?"

"Absolutely not."

"Why not?" Zack prodded. "It's not like they'd know."

Cloud snorted, "They know what we had for breakfast. Face it Zack, we're both on watch lists, for different reasons."

"Speaking of watch lists, I hear you're on the short list for promotion to field supervisor."

"Turns out there's an opening for a supervisor on site here, actually."

"Really? When did that happen?"

"About two hours ago."

"Oh. OH," Zack said as he realized what that meant. 

"Yeah."

"Well that is good news," Sephiroth said. He was still standing by the door, so Cloud patted the couch beside them. 

Once Sephiroth had sat down, Cloud leaned his head on him. "Thanks for taking care of this idiot."

"Idiot!"

Cloud grinned, "You're a lovable idiot at least."

Zack pushed Cloud off onto Sephiroth's lap. "Well this lovable idiot is going to warm up some pizza from the fridge for you, because I doubt they fed you very well."

"You would be correct. Just bad coffee and vending machine chips. Stale ones at that. I should file a complaint." He yawned and leaned back against Sephiroth with his eyes closed. "You're nice and warm. They keep their office too cold. More to add to the complaint."

Sephiroth chuckled and pulled the blanket off the back of the couch to drape over him. "Better?"

"Mmhmm. Wake me up for pizza."

After fifteen minutes of poking at the pizza as it heated slowly in the frying pan, Zack declared it ready and slid it onto a plate. He smiled as he entered the living room and saw Cloud asleep in Sephiroth's arms. "Cozy?"

"He smells like fire. It is not the right smell for him." Sephiroth shifted to get an arm loose from  
the blanket and gently poked Cloud awake. "Pizza wake up call, as requested."

Cloud smiled and held his hands out to take the plate from Zack. His stomach growled at the smell. "So what have you two been up to?" he asked as he picked up the slice. 

"I have been trying to keep Zack from rushing off to rescue you for most of the night," Sephiroth said. 

"Good work Seph. That would not have gone over well."

"Hey, I wasn't that bad." Zack took the empty plate from Cloud and took it back to the kitchen. When he got back he sat next to Sephiroth and pulled Cloud over for a tight hug, resting the blond's back against his chest so it was still easy for him to converse with the silver general. He buried his face in his hair. "He does smell like fire."

Cloud rolled his eyes, "Funny how that happens when you're in a burning building."

"I wonder if he tastes smoked too," Sephiroth pondered out loud. 

"Only one way to find out," Zack said, raising his eyebrow suggestively. Cloud blushed. "What do you say, Spike? I had a snack earlier, but I know Seph has been a bit peckish since then." 

Cloud wondered if his face could get any redder without catching fire. He looked up at Sephiroth, saw the barely suppressed longing there, and nodded. 

Zack squeezed him tighter, then tangled one of his hands into the blond spikes and forcefully tilted his head. He leaned forward and licked Cloud's neck. "Right here, hrm?" Cloud shivered, eyes closing. 

"Are you sure?" Sephiroth asked.

Cloud's voice was a whisper. "Please." He was trembling slightly in anticipation, his mind wandering to late night fantasies he'd had since finding out Zack and his friends were vampires. 

Sephiroth moved closer on the couch, and slid a hand into Cloud's hair, brushing up against Zack's fingers where they held him in place. He breathed softly on Cloud's neck, enjoying the shiver it caused. There was a soft whimper when he bit down, fangs piecing delicate flesh, but it quickly turned to a moan. "Still pure sunshine," he said as he licked the trail of blood that had trickled down Cloud's neck, before returning to feeding.

With Cloud securely pressed between them, (something he knew was high on Cloud's list of Good Things,) Zack let his hands start to wander, smiling at every reaction he drew out. It was turning into a very good night.


	14. Not Over Till We Say So

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day of the new job finds Cloud back where he was the day before.

Zack and Sephiroth had both left by the time Cloud dragged himself out of bed. He'd voted to sleep through breakfast, telling Zack he'd eat it later if they put it in the fridge. Sure, reheated eggs weren't as good, but bed was soooo much better. And there was just something satisfying about sleeping in on a work day. Not that he was going to work. Not really. There were things to do before then. He scarfed down the plate of food left for him, and got ready as quickly as he could, /after/ spending a half hour enjoying a private and very hot shower. 

He was at the door, bag and sword in hand, when his PHS buzzed that his ride was waiting. He jogged down the stairs, out to the waiting car, and climbed in the back seat. 

"Good morning, Sunshine! Did you sleep well?" Reno said, eyeing him from the passenger seat via the rear view mirror. 

Cloud grinned, "Aww, pretending you care. How sweet." He took the cup of coffee the redhead passed back to him. He sniffed it, shrugged, then took a sip. "Wow, got the good stuff. No more tar?"

"I like my people well caffeinated. They do what I tell them to with less arguing that way."

"This is your show, just give me the script to play my part. I'm fully in support of this not happening again."

"Shinra appreciates your cooperation. Here, eat a danish quickly like a good boy and keep your mouth shut till we're in the office. Try to look miserable on the way in."

"A true challenge of my acting skills."

They didn't encounter anyone on the way in, but Cloud kept up appearances for the mandatory cameras. Rude carried his bag and sword again. Once inside, Cloud took the seat he was pointed to and took his things from the silent Turk. He pulled out the locked box, keyed in the passcode, and took out the two coloured notebooks inside.

"Here's the notes you asked for," he said, passing over the blue notebook. "Everything I could remember. I have blueprint copies on the internal network if you want those. Someone should probably compare them to the final product."

"And you think that someone should be anyone besides you? Sorry kid, but that'll be your job."

"When am I supposed to have time for that?"

Reno held up the blue notebook, "When did you have time for all this?"

"With great difficulty. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to sneak out of bed when you're dating a super soldier?"

"I'm not stupid enough to date something I can't kill if things get too heavy. But the fact is, you got the job done, and you'll keep doing that if you want this to work."

Cloud sighed, "I'll figure something out."

"Good boy. Now give Rude your PHS."

He put in his unlock code and passed it over to the man, who seemed to be installing something on it. 

"Figure you'll probably get a couple weeks to settle in to the supervisor position before anyone tries contacting you. We'll be monitoring your calls. And your location. And your browser history just for fun. Probably photos too. Take some good ones."

"I'm not taking naked pictures of Zack for you," Cloud said, accepting the device back. "What if no one calls?" 

"Then we're back to the drawing board and no closer to the cheese at the end of the maze. Except you've got a better job that'll keep you all safe and cozy like your boyfriend wants, so you win out either way. Hardly seems fair."

Cloud shrugged. "I guess I can't complain. So what's the plan for today?"

Reno passed over a laptop that had been in the desk drawer. "You can start on those blueprints while I read this novel you gave me, in case we have any questions. Then we'll go over what you're going to do when you get the call."

Cloud took the laptop and set it up on his side of the desk. It was already connected to the network, so he logged in to his account. His new credentials gave him read access to all of his former supervisor's files. He pulled up the first project he found in the folder, and brought up his copy beside it. This was not going to be fun on such a small screen. He would have preferred the projector in the drafting room. That wasn't an option though. 

When six o'clock rolled around he rubbed his eyes and stretched. "That's my cue to leave," he said as his phone played the victory fanfare Zack had set as his unique text tone. He quickly messaged back that he'd meet him at the front entrance. 

Reno looked up from the notebook and waved him off. "Night kid. Check in at the end of the week if nothing comes up before then."

Cloud nodded and gathered his things, carefully locking the red notebook, now filled with notes, back in the box. 

Zack was waiting in the lobby, chatting with the secretaries at reception. He smiled and waved as Cloud came out of the elevator. Cloud jogged over and Zack grabbed him in a tight embrace, kissing him dramatically to put on a show for the girls. "I hope you don't have dinner plans, cause I kinda made dinner plans. Didn't want to bother you during work to check."

"Nothing's stopped you before,"  
Cloud commented as they started walking towards the door. 

"You said this was important."

Cloud leaned his head against Zack's shoulder. "Thank you. So what are our dinner plans?"

"We're all meeting up a fancy restaurant Gen picked. We can stop off at home first to change and drop off your stuff though."

"Okay. Good thing I got a raise. Genesis strikes me as having expensive taste."

"Aww, he's really not so bad. Give him a chance. For me? And Seph? He'd like it if you guys got along too. He doesn't have a lot of people he feels comfortable with."

"I didn't say no, did I?"

Zack kissed the top of his head, "Thanks Spike! It'll be fun, promise!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is being difficult so may be a bit late if it doesn't give in to being written.


	15. Despite What You've Been Told

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A simple dinner. Quiet. Calm. Nothing unusual happening here.

Zack and Cloud were the last ones to arrive at the restaurant. Cloud had tried very hard to get his hair under control but had to give up when Zack dragged him away from the mirror. "You look fine, Spike. Stop fretting."

"I suppose anything is better than the first impression they got of a strung out junkie," he sighed. 

"That was my fault, not yours, and they know that."

"Doesn't make it any better."

"Just relax," Zack said, giving him a quick hug before they went inside. He led the way to a private table on the mostly empty second floor. "Hey guys! Sorry we're late. Work stuff. You know how it is."

Cloud tried not to let the relief show on his face when Zack sat down so that Cloud was between him and Sephiroth instead of next to one of the other two. There were already drinks on the table. He raised an eyebrow at Zack, who shrugged and picked up his own drink. 

"We thought we would order for the table since it can take some time here," Sephiroth explained. "Appetizers should be here soon."

"Thank you," Cloud said. That saved him from having to pick something off the complicated menu at least. He sipped at the peach coloured drink in front of him. He wasn't sure what it was, but it had a nice fruity taste. 

"How was your day, Cloud?" Sephiroth asked. "Have you started your new work yet?"

"In a manner of speaking. Lots of paperwork so far. Gotta clean up the mess the last guy left."

"What kind of messes?" Genesis asked, with far more interest than Cloud was comfortable with. He remembered Zack telling him that Genesis had not parted with Shinra on very good terms. 

"Just the usual stuff when you take over for someone. Differences in organization and practices. It's hard to figure out where some things were left, what point some projects were left at." Cloud took another sip of his drink, surprised to find it half gone already. 

"Makes sense," Angeal commented, "it's especially hard when it's sudden and you can't talk to the person you're replacing."

Zack smiled. "Yeah, Cloud's up for the challenge though." He ruffled Cloud's hair and the blond swatted his hand away.

"I'm going to use the restroom while we're waiting on the food," Cloud said, getting up from the table. Thankfully he had seen the sign on the way in so he didn't need to ask directions. 

The bathroom was just as fancy as the rest of the place, with bright white sinks and shiny faucets sticking out of the wall beneath large mirrors. The floors were clean and the trash bin discreetly hidden beneath a counter which held a basket of paper towels. Pristine. That was the word he was looking for. He hoped his boots wouldn't scuff the tile. 

He used the toilet quickly and washed his hands, carefully placing the paper towel into the trash bin. He sighed at his reflection in the mirror, trying in vain to straighten out his hair. He splashed some water on his face. 

"Big date?"

He nearly jumped at the voice. He hadn't heard the door.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. Name's Mason." He offered a hand. 

Cloud started at the hand for a moment. "Sorry, but I don't make a habit of shaking hands with strangers in the bathroom."

"Germaphobe?" 

"Common sense, and a lack of faith in humanity."

The man chuckled. "You're Strife right? The new tech supervisor?"

Cloud frowned, "There's been no official notice of that yet."

"I pride myself on knowing what Shinra's been up to. And boy, are they always up to a lot."

"Who did you say you are?"

"Mason. Midgar Tribune."

"The newspaper?"

"Got it in one! Are you a reader?"

"No," Cloud stated. 

"Too bad. But I can get you a discount if you want to start. We can even send a subscription back to Nibleheim for your mom."

"Not interested. And throwing in personal trivia does not help you seem trustworthy."

The man shrugged, "Always worth a try." The man pulled out a business card, offering it to Cloud. "Shinra is into some dangerous things, Cloud. If you're moving up in the ranks, you're going to start being privy to it. Give me a call if you ever want to talk about it. Bright boy like you could help change things from the inside."

"Not interested," Cloud repeated, but he took the card. Could this be the contact the Turks were expecting? Surely not this soon. He hadn't even started the new job yet. 

The man walked back out without using the facilities. Cloud flipped the card over and saw "Call me" scribbled in hasty script. He laughed. /Call you? Surely I would never have realized what the card was for without those helpful instructions./ 

He considered taking a photo of the card in case he managed to lose it. He was about to take out his PHS when the side of his head forcefully struck the mirror, shattering the glass. He grabbed the sink to keep from falling, vision blurred from the impact and the blood dripping from the cuts on his temple. He kicked out, impacting with soft flesh. Blinking to flush his eyes, he tried to focus on the figure. 

"Jared?"

"Do you have any idea how much you've fucked up my life by fixing things I've intentionally broken? Reactor seven should have made everything right again, put me back in their good graces, but you just walked right out like nothing even happened. And then you even take my job," Jared snarled, lunging at him. 

Cloud easily sidestepped the infuriated man, who stumbled to a stop before the sink and spun around. Jared reached into his pocket and started to pull out a pistol. Cloud quickly grabbed the man's head and returned the earlier treatment by slamming his head backwards and down against the edge of the sink. Jared collapsed to the floor. 

"Shit." Cloud fumbled for his PHS and prayed to all the gods he'd known back home that Reno hadn't been joking about monitoring his photos. He had no direct line to reach the Turks, and he wasn't eager to send a photo of the corpse in the rapidly spreading pool of blood over the network either way. 

He held his breath as he waited. 

/Lock the door and stay put. Be there soon./

Cloud had been well caffeinated earlier, and easily did what he was told. 

\--  
Reno and Rude entered the second floor of the restaurant chatting to themselves. Well, Reno chatted, and Rude nodded at the appropriate places. They made a point of suddenly noticing the quartet of vampires at the one occupied table. "You go on ahead," Reno said, waving Rude on as the redhead approached the table. "Well aren't you all a nice sight. All dressed up spick-and-span." He pulled out Cloud's chair and took a seat. "This seat taken?"

"You know full well it is," Zack said with annoyance. 

Reno picked up Cloud's glass and sniffed it. "Trying to get the kid liquored up? You know it's a work night."

Genesis glared at him from across the table, "What do you want, Turk?"

"Do I have to want something?" He shrugged. 

"What are you up to, then," Angeal amended. 

"Nothing at all, nothing at all. Just stopping by to say hello." A beep came from his breast pocket, and he pulled out his PHS. "Looks like the big guy found our table. Have a good night, boys."

Zack frowned after him as the man headed towards the restroom. 

\--

Cloud and Rude had just finished manoeuvring the body into a bag when Reno knocked on the door to be let in. He whistled as he surveyed the damage to the sink and mirror. He picked up some paper towels from the basket and carefully stepped over the pool of blood. He wet the paper towels, squished them into the drain of the sink, and turned the faucet on high. Before long the sink started to overflow, rinsing the blood into the floor drain in the last stall. 

"Doesn't take you long to get into trouble, does it."

"It's not like I was trying. How did he even find me? I didn't even know I was coming here." He pulled off the gloves Rude had given him while they prepared to move the body. He tossed them in the bag with the corpse. 

"Well, I'm sure he had his ways..." Reno said, pointedly avoiding meeting Cloud's eyes. 

Cloud sighed. "So are we working together on this or am I just bait?"

"Six of one, half a dozen of the other."

"Baker's or mathematical dozen?"

Reno's face lit up. "Ooh. You engineering types think you're pretty clever, don't you."

"It's how we get the job." He picked up the business card he had dropped in the scuffle, giving it to Rude as he was the closer of the two. "This guy found me right before. Said Shinra's a bad place and he's available if I ever want to talk about it." Rude looked it over before giving it to Reno, who pocketed it.

The silent Turk grabbed some paper towels, handing them to Cloud so he could wipe the still dripping blood from his face. 

"Thanks. So what do I do now? They're going to notice. Zack's probably already freaking out that I've been gone so long."

"Damn right he is."

The three of them turned to see Genesis walking in. 

"Shit. I didn't lock the door," Reno grumbled. Rude smacked him in the arm and shook his head. 

Genesis did lock the door behind him. "Angeal thought you might be hiding from me so I thought I'd come try to make peace. Of course once you get close enough the air stinks of sour blood." 

He sauntered over to the trio and grabbed Cloud by the chin, turning his head to survey the damage. "Nothing a little cure can't handle." His hand glowed with green light as he gently touched the wounded area. 

"Thanks..." Cloud muttered, eyes downcast. He braced himself, expecting a demand for an explanation. 

Genesis turned around and started for the door. "Come along. Let them clean up, the food is getting cold."

Cloud shared a puzzled look with the Turks, who simply shrugged. 

"Oh, before you go," Reno said, reaching into the pocket of his suit jacket. "Take this. If you're not sure how to use it well, we've got someone who can teach you. It's not a sword, but it's easier to hide."

Cloud took the offered knife and slipped it into his boot pocket before following after Genesis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought this chapter was going to be late but it was just deciding to be longer. 
> 
> The next chapter may actually be late. I've got day job work I've brought home to do and there's a game beta my fellow wants to play. We'll see what happens.


	16. Well Then, Just Give Me a Taste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud and Genesis sort things out. Zack will sleep through anything when he's drunk.

Genesis was waiting for him in the hallway that connected the restroom to the main room of the restaurant, leaning against the wall somewhat dramatically. Drama is what Cloud had thought of whenever he was told about Genesis' antics. Dramatic entrances, dramatic exits, dramatic poses. This particular pose reminded him of something. Leaning against the wall, one knee bent with the bottom of the foot against the wall, arms crossed. He was sure he'd seen it before. 

"You're Red Leather, aren't you?"

Genesis started. "What? Oh Goddess, don't tell me you're a fan."

"Not exactly. I just remembered seeing some art with that exact pose on..." Cloud hesitated, "a forum somewhere."

"Are you a frequent visitor to the FangFreaks forums, Cloud?" 

Cloud's face went red almost instantly. "Not anymore."

Genesis smirked. "I'll let you in on a little secret. I technically own that site."

"What? But the things they put up about you there.."

"Are carefully moderated and curated to the image I want to present."

"Even the art?" Cloud was remembering some particularly not safe for work images he'd seen back then. 

Genesis laughed, "Yes, even the art. It's interesting seeing how I am imagined by the masses. None of them have actually seen anything of that sort of course. That's saved for very special people."

"Like Zack and the others?"

The man nodded. "It's been a good arrangement for us all."

"And I screwed things up," Cloud sighed. "I'm sorry. I really didn't know any of this was going on. Zack never mentioned being involved with anyone when we were just friends."

Genesis' face softened. "I wouldn't expect that he had. Shinra guards its secrets well, and he wouldn't have risked your safety by disclosing them unless necessary. But you haven't ruined anything, dear boy. You just need to find how you fit in all this. We all do."

"You don't want me gone?"

"If you taste as good as I keep hearing, I may want some of you for myself."

Cloud looked away, unable to meet Genesis' gaze. Even his ears were turning red at this point. 

"Come along, dear. The food really is getting cold, and it would be rude to ask them to reheat it. We can talk more later." Genesis put an arm around Cloud's shoulders, guiding him back to the table. 

"There you are!" Zack grabbed Cloud around the middle in a tight hug without getting up from his seat. 

Cloud chuckled and ran his fingers through Zack's hair. "How much have you had to drink?"

"Dunno. They just keep filling it up."

With careful manoeuvring, Cloud managed to sit down without making Zack let go. The dark haired man adjusted his grip so he could rest his head on Cloud's shoulder. 

"Did we miss anything of interest?" Genesis asked as he took his seat. Angeal and Sephiroth both shook their heads. "Good. Now, to eat!"

The four of them dug into the plates set before them. Cloud would take a bite of his food, then carefully feed Zack a forkful from his plate. 

Zack sighed happily, "This is the life, man." He nuzzled against Cloud's neck after he finished his mouthful of food. It wasn't long before everyone was done. 

Angeal eyed Zack, who was starting to snore. "Perhaps we should all retire to my place, since it's closest? Zack can have a little nap before you head home."

Cloud smiled, "That would probably be a good idea. I don't think I can carry him up the stairs alone in this state."

The four of them got up from the table, Angeal and Sephiroth helping to lift Zack to a semi-standing position. They supported him between them, leading the way back to Angeal's house. 

Cloud took a seat on the couch once they got inside, and Zack was unceremoniously dropped with his head in the blond's lap. Cloud gently played with Zack's hair as the man snored. He was glad it was only when intoxicated that he snored this much. Otherwise they would definitely be sleeping in different rooms. 

Sephiroth took the other end of the couch, lifting Zack's feet to slip under them. Angeal and Genesis were curled up on the love-seat. Angeal flipped through the television channels once everyone had taken a seat. He stopped on a show that looked familiar and Cloud groaned. 

"So was it like the cartoon?" Angeal asked with a grin. 

Cloud ignored the television, which was of course displaying the title screen for Turk Squad. "Reno hates the cartoon, apparently. But a little bit, yeah. They tried the good cop/bad cop routine they use in the show but I didn't let them get far with that."

Angeal nodded, still grinning. "Good work." He flipped through the channels some more till he found a well loved comedy. He yawned and stretched his arm, reaching around to pull Genesis closer. Genesis rolled his eyes but went along with it. 

By the time the movie was over, Zack had fallen into a very deep sleep. Cloud poked him repeatedly to no effect. He lifted the man's head enough to slip out from under him, and put the couch pillow underneath instead. "Could I use your bathroom?" he asked Angeal. 

"Third door on the left," he replied softly, trying not to wake up the others, who both seemed to be asleep as well.

"Thanks."

The bathroom was on the smaller side, and Cloud figured it must be a guest bathroom. Both tub and window sill were filled with potted plants. One of the vines nearly reached his head as he sat on the toilet. He pulled his PHS from his pocket to check his email, and the time. It was already past midnight. Had he dozed off as well? 

His inbox was mostly empty, but the calendar had been updated. He now had a 9 am appointment in an unfamiliar part of the building before starting his regular work at eleven. Then there was a meeting scheduled at 3 with the department head. After resetting his usual alarm to he at 7 instead, he put the PHS back away. He wondered if Angeal would be willing to let them crash at his place the rest of the night. There was no way he could get Zack home and get to bed in a reasonable time if he couldn't even wake him up.

He had to reach around another plant's leaves to get to the soap to wash his hands. The vines on that one were dangling down into the sink. Cloud started to wonder if anyone actually used this bathroom. He turned and closed the door behind him as he left. 

He was startled as he turned back and Genesis was just there. What good had all his training been if everyone was able to sneak up on him so easily? Genesis' hands were resting on the door frame on either side of him. Cloud nervously realized he was trapped. "Did you need the bathroom? I'm done," Cloud said.

"No."

"Okay..."

"I thought it might be a good time to finish our conversation, since everyone is asleep."

"Oh, okay. Do you want to go sit down somewhere so we don't bother them?" He realized he had no clue of the layout of Angeal's house, but Genesis likely did. 

"Here is fine," Genesis replied. He reached out and brushed Cloud's hair away from the spot he had cured earlier. "You're playing a dangerous game with the Turks."

"I just want to make sure no one else gets hurt."

"I can understand your reasons, and it's a noble goal, but the risks are high."

"It's important."

"You're lying about it to the one that loves you most in all the world. Is it more important than him?"

"Zack would think it's too dangerous, he thinks I'm more fragile than I am. I can handle this."

"If it's that important to you, he will support you and help you the best he can. Is it not worth giving him the option?"

Cloud sighed and leaned his head back against the door. "You're right."

"Of course I am."

Cloud laughed softly. "Thank you. For everything."

"If you're going to fit in here, you need to understand how important it is to be honest and communicate. There are no secrets between us, other than where presents are concerned." 

"If honesty is so important, then be honest about why you followed me here. It wasn't just to talk about Zack, though I do appreciate that."

Genesis sighed, "You speak words that are most true. I am hungry, Cloud, and you really do smell delicious. Zack was afraid to share you, but he seems to have relaxed about that, judging by the stories Sephiroth has shared. I think he still feels inferior to the rest of us and worries about losing you."

"He thinks I'd leave him for one of you? That's just ridiculous on so many levels."

"Love can made fools of us all." 

"And Zack has a head start in that department," Cloud snorted. "I'll have to set him straight. How many times do I have to tell him he's stuck with me?"

"Every day, I imagine. But that doesn't answer my question."

"You haven't actually asked one yet," Cloud pointed out. 

"Haven't I? I'm sure it was implied." 

"What happened to honesty and open communication?"

Genesis growled, but it wasn't an angry sound. "Very well. Cloud Strife, I would very much like to taste you. May I?"

Cloud nodded and was not surprised to find himself pressed back against the door, a hand in his hair, and fangs in his neck. This was starting to become a habit, and he couldn't deny that he loved every moment of it.


	17. But That's Alright, Cause I Believe You

Cloud reached for his PHS on the nightstand to turn off his blaring alarm, but his hand met air. He opened his eyes and blinked away the sleep. This was not his bed. The soft snoring beside him /was/ his boyfriend though, so that was good. He found his PHS in his pocket and turned it off before it woke anyone else up. Very carefully, he pulled his other arm out from underneath his boyfriend. Zack instinctively grabbed for him to try to keep the arm, but Cloud was well practiced in escaping from a sleeping Zack. Awake Zack was a different story altogether. 

He crept out of the room on tiptoes, closing the door behind him. The hallway looked familiar. That was good. He was starting to remember. They'd been at Angeal's place. He'd talked with Genesis... 

Ah yes. That's what had happened. He guessed Genesis had moved him and Zack to the spare room, as that part of his memory was a bit lacking. Cloud snuck towards the front door, nearly shrieking as Sephiroth popped out from around a corner. The man had the nerve o laugh at his reaction. Cloud glared at him, but his expression softened as Sephiroth pressed a cup of coffee into his hands. 

"We are the only ones awake so far," he said, guiding Cloud out to the living room. "Do you need assistance getting back home? Zack will be fine here."

Cloud shook his head and sipped the coffee. "I'll grab a cab. I should have plenty of time for a quick shower before I have to be at the office."

Sephiroth nodded, "Very well. Have a good day." He took the now empty cup from Cloud and closed the door behind him when the blond left. 

The cab he had called was not waiting outside. Instead there was a now familiar car. He sighed as he got in the back seat. "I need a shower, and I need to grab my stuff."

"Well I agree on the shower bit," Reno said, pointedly wrinkling his nose as he turned to look in the back seat. "But that all will have to wait. I assume you got your updated schedule?"

"I did last night."

"It's changed again."

"What? Why?"

"Did you think you just get to kill people in public bathrooms without consequences? Just because you're working with us doesn't mean you can get away with murder like we do, kid."

"That was self defence and you know it."

"Well sure /we/ know it, but you've gotta convince everyone else."

"Who else knows? Aren't you supposed to cover up stuff like this? Besides, you practically set it up."

Reno turned to Rude, who kept focused on where he was driving. "Look at this kid, thinks we're just going to clean up after him. The nerve." Rude shook his head, conveying a heavy dose of disappointment in their young charge.

Cloud opened his mouth to argue, but sighed instead and slouched against the back of the seat. 

"Good boy," Reno said, passing back a danish. "Eat up and keep your mouth shut till we're in the office, like usual."

Cloud chomped on the pastry with a mixture of anger and defeat. 

\--

"Did you seriously drag me in here at seven thirty in the morning to do your damn paperwork?" Cloud said as he grumpily slammed the pen down on the desk. 

Reno reached over from where he was sitting on the desk and took the pile of papers, passing them to Rude who was sitting behind the desk in a chair. 

"You want to be on the team, you have to take one for it. Ain't teamwork grand? Besides, you were first on the scene, technically. Reports are filled out by the first responder. Right?" Reno looked over at Rude for his nod of agreement. "Aww, look, he dots his 'i' with little clouds."

"I do not." Cloud checked the time, "I don't have time to change before my 9 o'clock now."

"Ah don't worry. You'll want to change /after/ that anyway. You can use the showers here when you're done. Hot water for days!"

"How many cameras are in the showers?"

"Three I think," he replied, counting them off on his fingers. "And before you say you don't have anything to change into, that's all taken care of. Apparently they want to test out a new uniform for the engineering department and you get to be the guinea pig."

"Seriously?"

"Don't knock it till you've tried it. I hear it's firrreee resistaaaant."

"Okay that sounds a little better. So what is my 9 o'clock? Your calendar notes have zero info."

"Knife training, remember? We can't have you carrying around that huge sword of yours all the time. No one goes for bait with a sword attached. Now get going."

An hour later Cloud stumbled back out of the training room, bleeding from more shallow cuts than he could count. He was grinning though. He'd managed to score one hit on his instructor before the end of the session. It was far better than he could have hoped for. Though the goal had been more defence than offence, so it was still a fail somewhat. 

Rude was waiting for him in the hall, with a clothing bag draped over one arm, and a potion in hand. Potions weren't as quick as materia, but it would make sure he was fixed up by the time he got done in the shower, and then he wouldn't get blood on his new clothes. His current clothes, he noted with a bit of sadness, were likely trashed. Too many slices to be worth fixing. 

Cloud followed Rude to the shower, nodded as the necessary supplies were pointed out to him, took the bag, and locked the door after pushing the Turk out.

The hot water made it very tempting to stay a while, but he knew there was a lot to do, and there was always the chance someone else needed the shower. He could use up the hot water at home later. The shampoo he borrowed from under the sink smelled strongly of apples, but was a fairly pleasant scent. The soap stung in the last few cuts that hadn't fully healed, but he'd had much worse, and likely would again. He towelled off and got dressed. 

He slipped his boots back on unsocked feet. That was going to feel strange for the rest of the day. The new suit didn't come with a pair though, and there was no way he was reusing the sweat soaked pair he had been using. He heard the door open and frowned. "I locked that."

"Did you?" Reno said, "I'll get maintenance to have a look at it."

"Are you just proving a point or did you want something?"

"You wound me with these accusations"

"You don't look very wounded."

Reno continued to grin and made the international hand signal for 'turn around'.

Cloud sighed and complied, rotating on the spot as the Turk whistled appreciatively. 

"Nice. Very nice."

Cloud looked over in the mirror, and had to agree. The outfit was surprisingly comfortable for being a uniform. He could tell the material was treated to be resistant to more than just fire, which is something that the engineering team really needed. It was pretty form fitting, which meant no lose material to catch on the machines, (and definitely accented his ass in a way Zack had better appreciate, if he knew what was good for him,) but not tight enough to restrict movement. The sleeves ended with a hole to slip the thumb into which made them end at about mid palm. It was perfect for making sure everything was covered once you put gloves on over it. It was solid black except for the Shinra logo emblazoned on the upper arm, and the silver embroidered name tag. 

"You realize what this means, right kid?"

Cloud shook his head.

"This means you are very likely going to be stuck doing some shitty PR work. Maybe even get on tv."

"I just want to make things," Cloud groaned. 

"We can't always get what we want in life kid. For example, if really like to get a nice steak. Instead we're stuck with whatever Rude decided to order while I was here. And even if he charges it to my card, he's still not going to order me one."

"Why not?"

"Because he believes ordering steak for delivery is blasphemous. And I happen to agree. I know I'd be disappointed in it. That doesn't, however, change the fact that I want one."

Cloud made a thoughtful noise and followed the Turk back to the office.

\--

By the time 3 o'clock rolled around, Cloud was glad he had a meeting. His eyes felt like they were burning or bleeding from staring at the screen so long. He was barely half way through the collection of blueprints at this point. Jared had signed off on a lot of projects. Where he wasn't fucking things up, he was taking the credit for others' work. For a moment Cloud regretted the man was already dead. 

The chair he was sitting in was soft but supportive, more practical than he expected as the guest chair of an executive. Reeve was no ordinary Shinra executive though. It was rumoured he actually did work, and that seemed true from the distracted look on his face. 

"Strife right? Sorry, I've got ten things on the go and another five I'm waiting for responses on. I'll make this quick. We'll be sending you to Wutai."

"Excuse me?"

"Probably not for a couple months, but I figured you should know now so you can try to learn the language at least." 

"Why?" 

Reeve barely looked over from the computer he was typing on. "We need that reactor built, and with the news spreading about the attacks on the reactors here, we need to send the best. News has travelled about what happened with reactors six and seven, as much as Shinra's tried to suppress it. You're becoming a bit of a folk hero in the tech circle. We need that kind of representation of safety there to make this deal go through."

"I can't go to Wutai."

"I believe the reason your predecessor did what he did was because he hadn't figured out how to bypass the fixes you made after the attempted meltdown of reactor six."

"It's my fault those people are dead," Cloud said quietly. 

"Many more would have died if the reactor went into meltdown, Cloud," Reeve said in a reassuring tone.

"Yes, but I can stop a meltdown. I didn't stop this," Cloud replied bitterly. 

Reeve finally looked away from his screen. "The people to blame here are the ones trying to destroy the reactors. Blaming yourself is not going to stop them, and makes you less effective at the job you're doing to help. Believe me, it's not worth that heartache to think about it like that."

Cloud didn't respond. 

"Take the rest of the day off. I'll send you the information you need to go over before you take over the team you'll be supervising here, when the Turks haven't dragged you off."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, sir."

Reeve chuckled. "Maybe with your help they can sort out this mess and you won't have to worry about travelling. Go home. You look like you've barely slept since everything happened."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter suffered from a bit of a "please just end" and a bit of "life is making me too angry to stay on target". Sorry folks.


	18. Everything is a Mess, I've come to Confess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud is left alone to think until Zack wanders home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Asreon has been a busy bee. This chapter here http://archiveofourown.org/works/9713375/chapters/22329818 has a lot of info about the vampires of this AU.
> 
>  
> 
> Normally I try to reread these before posting but I'll just make myself cry so typos be damned.

When Zack finally came home, he found Cloud face down, asleep on the couch, one arm dangling onto the floor with his PHS still in hand, the web browser showing a recipe website. Zack picked up the device just as it beeped softly and a message came across the top half of the screen. 

/I know you'll do what you can to avoid the trip to Wutai, but better be prepared anyway. Info is in your inbox as promised. --Reeve/

Zack frowned as the message faded away. His thumb hovered over the mail icon as he considered. He thought better. He wouldn't betray his boyfriend's trust or privacy like that. Cloud would tell him in his own time, he was sure. He set the PHS down on the coffee table. 

He looked back over at Cloud as he heard a grumble. "Hey Spike, you okay?" 

Cloud reached out with the arm that had been dangling and pulled Zack down by the edge of his shirt, lifting his head off the couch so Zack could slip under it. He rested his head on Zack's thigh. "When do we get vacation time?" he mumbled. 

Zack laughed. "My poor Chocobo. You've had a rough week." He ran his fingers though Cloud's hair. 

"I was going to make dinner for when you got in but I guess I fell asleep. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it, we'll order something in for tonight."

"The chicken's gonna go bad if we don't cook it."

"I'll cook it later to use for sandwiches. Don't worry about it, I said." He tapped Cloud on the nose. "You worry too much."

Cloud scrunched up his nose and unsuccessfully tried to bite at Zack's finger.

Zack laughed as he pulled his hand away. "So what's this you're wearing? Doesn't look familiar."

"New uniform for the engineering department apparently. I get to test it out. Gonna try setting it on fire later."

"I hope it survives," Zack said, resting his hand on Cloud's ass. "Cause this ass looks damn fine in it."

Cloud snorted, "You're an ass. It's supposed to be fire resistant. If it doesn't survive the test, I'm not letting them give it to my people." 

"They're your people now are they?"

"Mmhmm." He rolled over onto his back, then grabbed Zack by the hair to pull him down for a kiss. 

"This is very awkward."

"Don't care."

Zack laughed again and pulled Cloud up to a sitting position in his lap. "Want to try again?"

Cloud tried again, successfully getting what he wanted. He was looking more awake now too. "Zack, I need you to stop being so attractive for a few minutes so we can talk."

"It's not something I can just switch off. Would it help if I tickled you? That always annoys you," he grinned at the familiar irritated expression the idea brought out. "Just spit it out Spike, I'll be good."

Cloud sighed and leaned against Zack's chest. "I'm working for or with the Turks sorta, I don't even know, and Reeve wants to send me to Wutai to make a good impression."

"You can't go to Wutai."

"That's exactly what I said."

"It's practically a war zone over there still. It's not safe at all. Not to mention they still hate Shinra. Wait, what was that about Turks?"

"We're trying to figure out who's behind the reactor attacks."

"I thought that was your supervisor?" Zack asked, puzzled. 

"He did the dirty work but he was working for someone."

"And if you can figure it out, you don't have to leave, right?"

"If they can arrest the people behind it, they can make a big show of it and say everything's under control," Cloud explained. "Then people will believe the reactors are safe."

"So why can't they just do that with Jared?"

"Well that wouldn't stop the problem since he was just part of it, and he's kind of dead."

"Dead? When did that happen?"

"Ummm, last night?"

"Did the Turks get a bit carried away?"

"No... there was an altercation with one of his staff..."

Zack pulled Cloud tighter against him, "You're shaking. What happened?"

"It's my fault they're dead," Cloud said, burying his face in his hands.

"Who?" Zack said, pulling Cloud's hands away. "I'm sorry Spike but I'm very confused. But I know whatever it is couldn't have been your fault."

Cloud gave a heartbroken laugh. "I should have figured it out. I should have stopped him before anyone got hurt."

Zack gently grabbed Cloud's chin and turned him to meet his eyes. He kissed him softly on the forehead. "You're not omnipotent, love. You can't predict everything. You can't fix everything. You aren't responsible for everything or everyone."

Cloud tried to curl back in on himself but Zack held him tight. Tears streaked down his cheeks. 

"You haven't been this low in a long time. Tell me what's going on in that head of yours," Zack said, holding him tight and kissing the top of his head. 

"Reeve said the reason Jared set the bots after the workers was because he couldn't get the reactor to go critical, because of the fixes I'd made. I told him it would be better if I hadn't fixed it because I could stop a meltdown and no one would have died."

Zack bit his tongue, he knew cursing out Reeve now wouldn't help the situation. "And he told you not to blame yourself, right?" 

Cloud nodded. 

"And he sent you home so you sat here alone thinking about what you did wrong, instead of letting you go back to work where you'd be busy and distracted from it." 

Cloud nodded again. 

"Cloud, if anything like this happens again, you call me. I don't care how busy you think I am, that's up to me. Your brain is very mean to you when you're alone, and that's not your fault either." He squeezed the blond tightly. "Do you want to tell me what happened to Jared, or would you like to just play games for a bit?"

"I killed him," Cloud said quietly. 

"What happened?"

"He came after me in the bathroom at the restaurant and I hit his head off the sink."

"Did he hurt you?" Zack carefully kept his emotions from his voice. He'd been Cloud's friend long enough to know what would make things worse. 

Cloud nodded reluctantly. "Gen came by afterwards and fixed me up while Reno and Rude were cleaning up."

"That's good. I told you he liked you. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, but I'm glad he was. Jared can't hurt you or anyone else anymore, and you're helping to make sure no one else does either. You're doing a good job, Cloud."

"You're not upset?"

"Absolutely not. Now, how about I order us some food, and you can tell me what you're working on while you kick my ass at chocobo racing," Zack said, passing him a controller. 

Cloud took the controller and snuggled up against Zack. "Why do you put up with me?"

"Because you're awesome and I love you," Zack replied matter-of-factly. 

Cloud smiled, "I'm not giving you a head start."

"Then I'll have to win the old fashioned way, by throughly distracting the competition." He leaned forward and gave Cloud a kiss while skipping forward to the start of the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this chapter of Asreon's is pure smutty goodness. I'm going to go read it again to find my happy place so I'll stop being so mean to poor Cloud. I promise him some happy times. http://archiveofourown.org/works/9713375/chapters/22330553 (Def NSFW link)


	19. We're in this Together Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and the best time to plan.

They'd fallen asleep in a tangle of limbs, which meant both their alarms were going off for a while before they could roll opposite ways to shut them off. They met back in the middle of the bed for a kiss. 

"Good morning sunshine," Zack said, smiling. "How are you feeling?"

Cloud grumbled a reply, "Like mornings shouldn't exist. There should be laws against making people get up before eleven."

Zack chuckled. "I'll go start breakfast if you have time."

Cloud held his PHS up to his face, squinting against the brightness of the screen before remembering he could dim it. "Looks like nothing changed overnight, so breakfast sounds great."

Zack ruffled Cloud's hair before getting out of bed. "It's the most important meal of the day!"

"I thought I was the most important meal."

Zack burst out laughing. "You definitely are. Better than pizza even." He headed out to the kitchen. 

"Good answer," Cloud called after him as he dragged himself to his feet. He glanced over at the pile he had left his new uniform in. It still smelled faintly of charcoal. He realized he had no idea what the washing instructions for it were. If it was machine washable, that would be another point in the positive category. If it was hand wash only, there would be a problem. No one was going to hand wash it. It definitely wasn't fit for wearing today though. He threw on some dark jeans and a t-shirt with an image of a half made mech, with a mesh outline of the other half of it. The text above it declared "We Can Build It". Jessie had given it to him for his birthday last year. 

The smell of bacon was making his mouth water. He regretted having to sneak out of Angeal's before yesterday. His memories of his unexpected visit to Sephiroth's included a delicious breakfast the man had made. A lot of that day was blurry, but that breakfast had been divine. 

Cloud headed out the the kitchen and hugged Zack from behind as he was plating the food. He stole a piece of bacon off of Zack's plate and Zack smacked his hand with the spatula. "You've got plenty of your own. So what's on the schedule for today?" 

Cloud took the plates, setting them on the table while Zack poured some drinks. "Good question. Too many people have access to just add things to my calendar. Well, Reeve makes sense, he's the department head. Reno just puts in whatever he wants. Like right now I apparently have an appointment to take naked photos of you. Oh! That reminds me, you should probably know they've bugged the heck out of my PHS. They can even see the photos taken."

"Really?" Zack asked. "Can I see it for a minute?"

Cloud gave him a curious look, but passed it over. Zack knew the passcode anyway. Zack took a quick selfie making a rude gesture and passed it back. Cloud grinned. 

"As much as I dislike having Turks all up in our business, I do feel better knowing someone is keeping an eye on you while all this is happening."

Cloud nodded, "Yeah. It's come in handy so far." He opened up the calendar. "Looks like I've got the day to finish up going over the leftover paperwork and take over the office space. That sounds pretty nice actually."

"You need a plant for your office. I bet Angeal could recommend some good ones that clean the air without needing a lot of care."

"That's your job then."

"My job?"

"Mmhmm. You wanted to help, so you can start by sprucing up my office. Well, not literally with spruce. I don't think that would work well." Cloud stole another slice of bacon, narrowly missing getting stabbed with a fork. He bit down on it with a thoughtful look on his face. "And I need to figure out about this language class. It would probably be good to take anyway, in case they call for help with something."

"Seph could probably help you practice. I'm pretty sure he learned to speak it while he was out there."

"You don't think that would just bring up bad memories?"

Zack thought about it for a moment, "Nah. I think he'd enjoy the chance to use any knowledge he has. And it's an excuse for him to spend time with you. He'd like that."

"Should I message him? Or is he out of town?"

"He's out of town but he wouldn't mind getting messages. Just make sure to put 'not an emergency' at the start."

"There's a story behind that isn't there."

Zack grinned, "Of course there is, but you need to get going."

"You're not going to walk me there?"

"I'm pretty sure there's a car outside waiting for you," Zack said, showing Cloud a message that had just come through on his PHS. It was just like the photo Zack had taken, but instead of Zack making rude gestures, it was Reno, and it was clearly taken outside their building.


	20. My Own Little World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Settling in to the new place.

"Welcome to a world where the air I breathe is mine  
Nothing to overwhelm me and nothing to cloud my mind  
Be anyone, do anything I'd ever want to try  
Time doesn't exist here" - Celldweller

 

Cloud stood in the center of the office, surveying the space. Reno and Rude had gone over everything with a fine toothed comb and several devices that beeped intermittently, and declared the space cleared for use. Now he just had to figure out how he wanted to use it. He'd had Biggs and Wedge help him carry in one of the drafting tables and projectors already. 

Right now, the space was bare except for the furniture. The bookshelves were empty, everything having been carted off as potential evidence the day before. The contents of his locker had been moved to the closet, where he found a number of the new uniforms had been hung. He managed to squeeze a lock box for his sword in there as well, though he'd left the blade at home this morning. (The knife however was safely tucked into his boot again.)

Cloud rummaged through the box he'd brought from home until he found the framed picture of he and Zack, setting it up on the desk. He sat down in the chair, one of the only new things in the room, opened the top drawer of the desk, and started to put away the office supplies he'd brought. There were a lot of pencils. Some of them he'd probably move to the drafting table. 

He glanced over at the door to make sure he had closed it. Then he put his feet up on the desk and reclined the chair, grinning. He'd never had his own office before. He nearly fell out of the chair when the phone on the desk rang. 

"Strife," he said when he finally managed to answer. 

"Getting comfy?"

"Reno. Let me guess, you left a camera behind."

"Of course we did kid. No quickies in the closet if you don't want the tapes passed around the office."

Cloud could just imagine the grin on Reno's face. "What do you want?"

"A house with a white pocket fence and two point five kids, just like everyone."

Cloud snorted. He didn't believe that at all. 

"Rude's ordering lunch, wanted to know if you needed anything."

"That's nice of him. I take it you're coming by the office?"

"Yup. Some of these books are owned by the department and they've been cleared for return to you."

"Oh that's great! I thought I'd have to order replacements for everything. So where's lunch from?"

"Dunno."

"That makes it hard to decide what to order."

"Oh you just get to pick if you're getting food or not. You don't get to pick what it is. Catch up kid, this is basics."

Cloud thought about it, shrugged, then replied. "Alright, mystery food it is."

Muffled shouting came from the phone, then Reno pulled his hand away from the mouthpiece. "See you soon.

With the phone hung up, and now a deadline for impending company, Cloud got back to work arranging things. 

By the time the Turks arrived, the walls were covered with various pictures and posters. Most of them were related to the department, but some were purely aesthetic. He was particularly fond of the promo poster he'd managed to grab from the PR department. It was a beautiful image of the train with an overlook of the city. 

Rude came in carrying several bags in one hand, a folding chair tucked under the other arm. Cloud moved his now empty box off the desk to make room for everyone to eat. He raised an eyebrow at the extra chair, and when Rude set out four containers, Cloud figured they were expecting someone else. 

"Sit. Eat," Reno said, gesturing to Cloud's spot with his fork. 

Cloud complied. He opened the styrofoam container and considered the contents. It seemed to be some kind of rice and curry dish. Nothing strange or unfamiliar. That was a relief. He didn't expect Rude would order anything inedible but he wouldn't put it past Reno to try. He was about to take a bite when he heard the door open. 

"No one waited for me?"

"Hey Zack," Cloud said, getting up to help Zack with the collection of potted plants he was trying to balance. He set the pots down on an empty bookshelf to sort out later. "Wait, weren't you guys supposed to be bringing books?"

"Do I look like the box carrying type, kid?" Reno said. "Someone will bring them by with a cart."

"But wasn't that the reason you were coming here?"

"Nah, the lunch room stinks, some idiot was microwaving fish. We just wanted somewhere nice to eat."

"So you came here to spill rice all over my nice clean desk."

"Hey, you got food out of it too. So shut up and eat it."

Zack grinned as he took a seat on the folding chair, picking up his container of food. "I think he likes you, Spike."

"You're so full of shit you're starting to smell, Fair. Don't ruin my new lunch room."

"Yup. That's what I thought," Zack said with a smirk.


	21. But if you Hurt What's Mine...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meetings. 
> 
>  
> 
> (This chapter and I don't like each other. Well, the later half of it that is. Pushing past.)

But if you hurt what's mine, I'll sure as hell retaliate

\---

Three simultaneous beeps sounded from three separate devices. Zack looked at the trio quizzically. 

"Calendar update," Reno said around a mouthful of rice. 

"It makes noise now?" Cloud said with amazement.

"You kept bitching about not knowing when your schedule changed," Reno said with a shrug. 

"So," Zack asked, "do you all have some big secret meeting?"

Rude shook his head and showed Zack the alert. 

"So why do you care if Cloud has a meeting with Reeve?"

"Look, we gotta keep an eye on your boy here. We're hoping shit hits the fan. Either dearly departed Jared's contact is going to come looking for a new inside man, or they're going to try to clear the obstacles out of their way," Reno explained. 

"I really don't like the sound of either of those options," Zack said with a concerned look. 

"Lighten up, Fair. The kid does a pretty decent job of looking out for himself, and if he fucks that up, well, that's why we keep track of him."

"What I want to know," Cloud interrupted, "is who the hell thinks it's a good idea to schedule a meeting at 4:30pm on a Thursday."

"Reeve does?" Reno suggested helpfully. 

Cloud flicked some rice off his fork at the redhead, who gave him an indignant look as he picked the pieces out of his hair. "Wise guy. Seriously though, guaranteed this runs late. Wants to talk about the new uniform, judging by this agenda he's helpfully attached. Good thing there's some of them here."

"I can guard the door if you want to change before you go," Zack said. 

"Thanks," Cloud said, smiling. "Did Angeal give you any info on how to look after these plants? I wasn't expecting so many."

"He insisted I take them all." Zack rummaged in his pocket, pulling out a crumbled, handwritten note. "Apparently the bottom of each pot is labeled so you can lift them up to check the number and cross reference with this."

Cloud took the paper and checked to see if any of the plants would need to be put in the window straight away, or had any special requirements. Everything seemed pretty straightforward. "Tell him thanks for me."

"Sure thing. He said to give you his number in case you had questions though, so you can message him yourself if you'd like."

Cloud tossed Zack his PHS so he could add the contact. He gathered up the empty food containers, putting them in the trash bin. He'd take out the bag before he left. No reason to risk ants by leaving it to sit overnight. Who knew what kind of super ants could escape from the labs. 

Cloud pushed Reno's feet off the new home they'd made on his desk. "I think it's time for you two to head off. I need to get ready for this meeting."

"You do realize we could just watch on the cameras."

"Yes, but this way I can pretend you're not watching."

Reno shrugged and the pair got up to leave. 

Zack put his feet up on the desk and leaned back in his chair with a grin. Cloud promptly shoved his feet off the desk too. "My desk is not a footrest for any of you. Your boots are filthy." Reno burst out laughing as he closed the door behind him. 

It took Cloud longer than usual to change with Zack "helping". Thankfully he was fully clothed by the time there was a knock at the door. The books had arrived. 

"I better leave you to this and get back to work myself," Zack said, giving Cloud a quick kiss on the cheek. "Should I wait for you to get out of your meeting?"

Cloud shook his head, "I'll grab a cab home afterwards."

\----

Mama Strife had always said not to get into cars with suspicious strangers. (That was a lie. Mama Strife didn't care at all about cars. Her advice was more along the lines of "don't let yourself be surrounded by predators in the woods" and Cloud felt that was much the same advice in this case.) Cloud got in the car anyway. Technically the occupant of the back seat of the cab wasn't a stranger, but he wasn't a friend either. 

"Cloud! Fancy meeting you here!"

"Hello Mason. Yes, how odd that you would run into me in a cab I called to pick me up outside my place of employment," Cloud said. "How's the newspaper biz?"

"Good, good. Working on a big story. Something you could help me out with, actually." The man gave Cloud's address to the cab driver. The blond's eyes narrowed, but he didn't comment. The reporter certainly liked to make a show of knowing things. Had this been Jared's contact after all, or something else entirely?

"Oh really?" Cloud said, buckling his seatbelt. 

"In your opinion, how safe are the reactors? Off the record."

Cloud very much doubted anything was off the record with this man. "What do you mean?"

"There was a bomb in reactor seven just a few days ago, and reactor six nearly went into meltdown last month. Are the citizens in Midgar safe, or are the reactors just a tragedy waiting to happen?"

"What do you know about what happened Monday?" Cloud realized he didn't know what the official story had been. He'd have to be careful. 

Mason pulled out a notepad and flipped through it. The pages were filled with heavy pressed pen marks. "According to sources, a terrorist organization is claiming credit, saying that it was meant as a warning of the evils perpetrated by Shinra against the planet."

Cloud tried not to laugh at that. Mason did not seem amused. 

"Care to share your insight for the article?"

"Not interested," Cloud said. "Shinra has a department to handle those questions."

"Yes, but you were there. You know what really happened," Mason pressed. 

"The people in this city rely on the reactors for power. So does your paper. What do you accomplish by making people scared of that?"

"We just want Shinra to tell the truth, to be held accountable for their actions."

"There are proper channels for that," Cloud said, "there's even regular open houses to the public where anyone can come to speak to the board. Maybe you should try that instead of publishing articles designed to incite panic."

Mason looked offended by the accusation. "The people deserve to know what's happening in their city. That's why I do it. I bring them the stories they want to read. I'm even working on tracking down some ex-soldiers to question about the vampire attacks in the slums. Hopefully get some good pictures so people know who to watch for."

Cloud frowned, "Why?"

"Why? So the people can make sure they're watched and can't get away with anything. If they can't go to the corner store without being harassed, then maybe they'll convince Shinra to do something, or just leave town."

"Have you got any leads on that story?"

"A few. Not enough to start sharing anything though. These things take time. I managed to copy some coded documents about who they are into my notebook when someone wasn't looking." He tapped his notebook with his pen, smiling triumphantly. "Just need to work out the code."

"Did you tell anyone you were coming to talk to me?" Cloud asked. 

"If you're worried that it would get back to Shinra if you tell me anything, you've got nothing to worry about. I never reveal a source. "

"Does anyone know you're here?" he asked again. 

"No," Mason replied, looking puzzled. "Why?"

"You're not a very smart man are you," Cloud said as he grabbed the notebook out of his hand. 

"Hey! What are you doing?"

Cloud pulled the knife from his boot. Mason flinched away, but there wasn't much room in the back of the car. Cloud used the knife to cut the pages from the notebook, then put the empty cover back in Mason's hand. He stuffed the pages into his pocket. 

"Look Mason, I know how to look up publicly available information on people too, so I know you're new in town and you're looking for a big break so you can work with a real paper, but this is a Shinra town, and bad things about Shinra may not be the story you want to break."

"Are you threatening me?" Mason looked to the cab driver for help, but the man did acknowledge him.

"That part was just helpful advice," Cloud said. "But this is a Shinra cab, Mason. David here is my usual drive home. He'd look the other way if I decided to kill you, because that's his job. And he would be paid well to do so."

"You wouldn't do that," Mason said, his voice unsure.

"Don't presume to know what I'm capable of just from reading about me. If you insist on publishing stories that are going to hurt people I care about, then I might. I'd rather not though. It creates a stupid amount of paperwork." 

"So what should I do?"

"Well," Cloud said, "to start, you should come to one of those open houses I mentioned. Talk to Reeve. Hell, book an appointment and come see me at the office. See what Shinra is actually doing instead of relying on rumours from terrorists to build your stories. And think about the consequences to the average person before you falsely paint everyone at Shinra as monsters."

"But-"

"Did you know we have a division working to make the reactors more environmentally friendly?"

"You do?"

"We do. No one pays attention to that when they can present drama instead."

"Drama sells papers."

"Drama gets innocent people killed. You don't want that blood on your hands. Trust me, it never comes off."

The cab stopped suddenly and Mason was surprised to see the destination they had reached was his own home. He got out of the cab, closing the door behind him without looking back. He had a lot to think about. 

Cloud leaned back against the seat as David drove him home. He looked through the notes he had taken. He'd need to find out where these had been copied from if he was going to keep his friends safe. W


	22. Here Without You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friday. 
> 
> (I'm awful at these summaries.)

Cloud recognized the smell of spaghetti from the hallway and knew what it meant. Either they had company, which was unlikely as Zack hadn't messaged to warn him, or Zack had gotten an out of town mission. Why spaghetti? It was easy to freeze and reheat. Zack knew Cloud didn't feel up to cooking much when his boyfriend was away, and refused to let him eat nothing but store bought microwave dinners when he could fill the freezer with lovingly made pasta. 

Cloud thought happy thoughts and wiped the disappointment from his face before opening the door. "I'm home!"

Zack came out from the kitchen to meet him, drying his hands on a dish towel. "'Bout time! I was worried dinner would be cold by the time you got in. Everything okay?"

Cloud nodded and kissed Zack on the cheek. "All good. Smells great in here."

"Are you talking about me, or the food?"

"Both, of course." He moved past Zack to set the table. 

Cloud told Zack about his meeting with Reeve while they ate, then they washed the dishes together after packing the leftovers into freezer bags. 

"I'm shipping out tomorrow afternoon," Zack finally said as he put the plates away in the cupboard. "Hopefully just for the weekend." He led Cloud out to the couch, taking a seat then pulling the blond onto his lap. "Will you play a game so I can watch and cuddle you for a while?"

Cloud smiled and reached for the controller. "Sounds good to me." 

Zack wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist, resting his head against his shoulder. "I was hoping nothing would come up yet, but I can't ask Seph to take it. He covered my last out of town mission."

"It's okay, Zack. It's your job, I understand."

"Will you stay with him while I'm gone? Take the food to share. I'd feel better if you both had company."

Cloud reached back to ruffle Zack's hair. "If it'll make you feel better, of course. Well, as long as Seph is okay with it of course."

"He is."

"You asked already," Cloud laughed.

"Of course." Zack nuzzled against Cloud's neck, then softly drew his fangs across his skin. 

Cloud shivered. "Hungry?"

"For you? Always. My delicious little chocobo."

Cloud's laugh broke into a moan as Zack tangled his fingers in his hair and tilted his head back. Between the fangs biting down on him and the hand slipping down the front of his pants, he gave up on the video game, letting the controller fall to the floor.

\--

When Cloud's alarm went off the next morning, Zack refused to let go of him so he could get up. "Can't you call in for the morning and stay?"

"Maybe? Let me check the calendar for today." He tried to move closer to the nightstand where his PHS was. He had to drag Zack with him when the man continued to cling to him. He squinted at the screen, blinking away the sleep in his eyes. "Looks like I don't technically have to be in till eleven. I can bring some stuff home to work on later."

"Mmm. Good." Zack rolled back to the middle of the bed, pulling Cloud under him in the process. "I need to stock up on my Cloud supplies to last the next few days away."

\--

The day past uneventfully until it was time for the office to close. Cloud called his usual cab, asking David to wait as he ran up to his apartment to pick up the things he was taking to Sephiroth's. His bag was already packed, but he needed to grab the frozen food as well. The plants had already been watered before Zack left, so he didn't have to worry about that. It felt so strange to be leaving the apartment. He still felt it was unnecessary, but Zack said Sephiroth needed the company just as much. Apparently Angeal and Genesis had long standing plans for tonight, and no one should have to come back from a mission to an empty place. Cloud could understand that. He checked his pocket to make sure the keycard Zack had given him was still there, then locked the door behind him. 

\---

Sephiroth's place was dark and stale when Cloud walked in. He turned on the lights and opened up a couple of windows to circulate the air. The quiet was unnerving so he set the tv to the cartoon channel again. After putting the food into the freezer, he set up his laptop at the couch and started in on he work he'd brought home. 

When his stomach started to protest the lack of dinner, Cloud checked the time, surprised to find it was already half past eight. He checked his messages. Nothing. He hadn't been told what time to expect Sephiroth though, so he decided not to worry just yet. Being who he was, the man probably actually did the paperwork from his missions before going home. 

He grabbed one of the bags of frozen pasta, emptied it into a plate, and heated it in the microwave. He ate standing in the kitchen, just like he would have done at home, then cleaned everything up so there was no sign anything had been used.

Back at the couch, he closed his laptop, leaving it on the coffee table, and stretched out, watching tv until he fell asleep. It was like a typical night when Zack was away, just in someone else's empty house.


	23. A Friend Who Bleeds is Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Night falls, and dinner is late.

Cloud dreamed. He'd had this dream before. Many times since he was a child. It often started in different places but it always ended in the frozen woods with blood on the snow. 

He found himself by the riverside. The water was still flowing, too fast to freeze over completely. The occasional chunk of ice would float past, smashing against rocks and tree branches that rose from the water. A solitary black wolf stood on the other side of the river, watching with its bright yellow eyes. This part, he knew was a memory. He had watched until the wolf turned away, heading back into the woods. In the dream, he followed. 

The icy water numbed his legs as he plunged into the water, clinging to a log that had fallen across the river. The rough bark scraped his hands as he pulled himself towards the other bank. He shivered as he climbed up the muddy bank, but the wolf had stopped to look back from the tree line and it drove him forward again. Maybe this time...

It felt like ages had passed, and yet barely a moment. Such was the way of time in dreams. He lost site of the wolf many times in the forest, but whenever he gave up hope of finding it, it would appear in the distance again to lead him onwards. It waited for him at the edge of a clearing, and they entered the open area together.

They were too late, again. Blood stained the snow, patches of fur lying in pools of it. The pack was dead. Only the wolf at his side remained. "I'm sorry," he said, resting a hand on the wolf's shoulder. He heard a growl, but it was not close enough to be the creature beside him. They both turned to watch a silver wolf stalk into the field. 

It sniffed at the bodies as it went past them, carefully avoiding stepping in the blood. It's eyes were sorrowful, it's steps heavy with guilt. It too had arrived too late. It growled as it approached dream Cloud. "I'm sorry," he said to this wolf as well. It leapt forward and he let its weight carry him to the ground, its jaws at his throat. He heard a voice.

"Wake up, Cloud."

Cloud opened his eyes and jerked away from the face that was pressed so close to his. "Seph? What?"

The man shifted his weight on top of Cloud. His softly glowing green eyes were filled with pain and hunger. 

As the fog of sleep faded from his mind, Cloud remembered the conversation he had with Zack before they had parted ways for the day, about how there was another reason someone needed to be there when Sephiroth got home. "It's okay," he said, and stifled a cry as Sephiroth bit roughly into him. 

It was a more painful bite than he was used to from Zack's feeding, even when his boyfriend had been going without too long, but he knew Sephiroth was used to feeding from other soldiers. It wasn't very long before the pain faded into the blissful lightheadedness he was used to though. He wondered how his limbs could feel so heavy when his head knew he was floating. His eyes flickered closed as he ignored the small part of his brain that screamed about there being a problem. 

\---

Cloud heard himself groaning and the sound nearly brought tears to his eyes. He squeezed his eyes closed tighter, trying to block the faint traces of light making it past the protective lids. He couldn't remember a time his head had hurt this badly. He pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes and tried to steady his breathing. Slowly the sparks dancing in his eyes faded. The ache was far from gone, but it was compartmentalized enough that he would be able to function long enough to find drugs and some coffee. He knew someone had told him caffeine made painkillers work quicker, but didn't remember why just now and didn't feel it mattered. 

Step one: move the blanket. Then get up. 

"Don't move."

Cloud froze at the voice, so close to his ear. He realized that wasn't the weight of a blanket but the weight of an arm holding him down. 

He very slowly turned his head, even that small movement making his stomach lurch as everything span. He opened his eyes to see Sephiroth watching him intently with concern. 

"Whatever you need, I will get for you. I was... less than kind in my hunger."

Cloud closed his eyes again. "Head hurts." His words were more slurred than he expected, barely sounding like separate words. He felt the bed shift as Sephiroth left it and took the opportunity to curl into a tight ball. 

He felt a soft tap on his shoulder, and moved just enough to take the offered glass and tablets. He swallowed them down and drank as much of the water as he could. The glass was taken from his hand before he could drop it. The bed dipped as Sephiroth sat down on it again. The man draped a blanket over him. Cloud felt hesitant fingers stroking his hair, becoming more confident when he made no attempt at complaint. It was helping. He went back to sleep. Drugs and sleep were the best cure for any headache, when decapitation wasn't an option.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [redacted thoughts on different ways this could have gone]


	24. Welcome to the Underground

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My brain doesn't have a strong feel for Angeal yet so he's still a background blob. I had an idea of him but after playing FFXV he's mixed up with Gladio in my mind. I need to go read some and rebuild but reading and writing occupy the same time in my day. 
> 
> Sorry for the delay. I couldn't get a seat on the bus this morning to finish the chapter.

By the time lunch had come and gone without Cloud moving from the ball he had curled into, Sephiroth had begun to worry. He had tried giving him breakfast, he knew you were supposed to do that, but Cloud had looked ill at the mention of food and had quickly burrowed back in the blankets without a word. 

He did the only thing he could think of and sent Genesis a message. /Emergency. Please come swiftly. I may have broken Zack's human./

/I'm sure he's fine./ Genesis replied. Sephiroth did not respond. Five minutes passed. /Fine. We will be there soon./ Sephiroth let out the breath he had been holding and went back to sit on the bed with his charge until he heard the front door open. 

Angeal pulled out one of the chairs from the table and sat Sephiroth down in it. Genesis took the seat across from him. "Now, tell me what happened."

"Zack had said it was alright, that they had discussed it, and I did check with Cloud first," Sephiroth began, "but I may have taken more than he is accustomed to. He was not awake when I finished."

Genesis nodded, "That's not so unusual after a heavy feeding from what Zack has described. But he did also say it was something Cloud enjoyed, I wouldn't be so worried that he'll be upset with you."

"He enjoys being unconscious?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that. How was he this morning?"

"He said his head hurt. I gave him some water and medication. He looked nauseous when I mentioned food, and he's been asleep ever since."

"What did you give him?" Genesis asked. Sephiroth passed him the bottle of painkillers he normally kept in the first aid kit. Genesis read the label. "Well, these are a bit strong. Might explain why he's still asleep. What you've described sounds more like a migraine than overfeeding though. In which case, he'll be fine once it passes and sleeping was the best option."

"Could you check on him?"

Genesis sighed. "If it will make you feel better."

\--

Genesis closed the door behind him and considered the lump on the bed. Burrowing was definitely the right word. He even had a pillow over top of his head. He gently prodded the blanket pile. No response. 

Genesis moved the pillow to the side and pried open one of Cloud's eyes. Immediately a pillow struck him in the side of the head. He laughed a little at that and snatched the pillow away before it was used as more cover. He sat down on the bed. "Still alive then?"

A grunt was the only reply he got. He grabbed Cloud's shoulders and repositioned him so the blond's head was in his lap. He rubbed his temples, applying just the smallest bit of a cure spell. He knew this type of thing wasn't fixable by magic, but it could still help. He didn't say anything until he felt Cloud's breath even out and the tension ease. "Do you get these often?"

"First one this bad since I left home."

"Have you been under more stress lately than usual?"

Cloud laughed at the question. 

Genesis chucked, "You're right, a stupid question. Do you think you could manage to come out and eat something? Sephiroth has been worried sick that he harmed you."

"I didn't mean to worry him," Cloud said, letting Genesis help him sit up slowly. 

"I know dear. He's not used to being around your kind much outside of work requirements. I on the other hand spend much of my days in the company of you fragile creatures."

"You do?"

Genesis nodded and stood, offering Cloud a hand up. "Perhaps later I will tell you about it. For now, let us put the silver general at ease about his troops." He put his arm around Cloud's shoulders to help him out to the table. 

Sephiroth lifted his head from where it had been resting atop his crossed arms on the table as he heard them approaching. 

"I'm okay," Cloud said straight away, "this wasn't your fault."

Genesis pushed Cloud over beside Sephiroth so the man could look him over for himself. Sephiroth checked him over, making sure the bite had healed up, and checking his eyes for any signs of discomfort or hesitation. "Are you sure?"

Cloud nodded, "My head still hurts some but that was nothing to do with you. Promise." He took Sephiroth's hand and kissed the back of it, trying to show that he wasn't afraid of him after the night before. 

Genesis had sat down beside Angeal and the two were whispering. Angeal nodded, getting to his feet. "Now that everything is sorted, it's time you got some rest Seph. Let's get you tucked into bed."

Sephiroth started to protest but Cloud shushed him. "You kept watch all night didn't you. Go get some sleep."

He looked over at Genesis as Angeal took his hand. Genesis snorted, "I'm not going to eat the little one if you leave us alone. Well, maybe, but not without permission." Cloud's face flushed at the comment. Sephiroth sighed in defeat and let himself be led away.

Genesis passed Cloud the bottle of painkillers. "Only take one at a time if you want to stay conscious. It'll still be enough to help."

"Thanks," Cloud said, getting a glass of water to take it with. "While the others are gone, can I get you to take a look at something I found?" Genesis nodded, and Cloud grabbed some papers from his laptop bag. 

Genesis flipped through the pages, his frown deepening. "Where did you get these?"

"Had a chat with a reporter."

Genesis ran his finger along the edge of the papers where Cloud had cut them from Mason's notebook. "Is he dead too?"

"I don't just go around killing people Gen, that was self defence."

"Maybe you should."

"What?" Cloud said in surprise. 

"Can I keep these?"

"Sure, if you tell me what they are."

Genesis peered at him over the papers, "You don't know?"

Cloud shrugged, "I know he thought they had to do with ex-soldiers he was looking to write an about."

"You probably should have killed him."

"What do they say, Gen?"

"Nothing you need to worry about. This isn't your business."

"It is if you're all in danger."

Genesis stuffed the papers into his pocket. "You're not involved. We'll deal with it."

Cloud growled, "Damnit Genesis, if Zack is involved, so am I. I'm not going anywhere no matter how much you'd rather I was gone."

"Do you know what humans are best at, Cloud?"

"Meddling?"

The comment made Genesis chuckle. "I suppose that's true as well. No, Cloud, what your kind is best at is dying. And I do not want to have to deal with that more than necessary. And I definitely don't want to have to pick up the pieces it would break Zack into."

Cloud grabbed Genesis' chin, tilting his head up to meet his eyes. "I am not that breakable, Genesis. I'm here to stay. Let me help."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I am swearing at my brain for figuring something out. Damnit brain./vagueposting


	25. It's All a Bad Dream Spinning in Your Lonely Head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, my hour long bus trip home has finally hit the half way point after 2.5 hours so I had time to finish the chapter.

Genesis studied Cloud a bit longer. "Do you think you can find out where this reporter of yours got this from?"

"I can try."

"Then I will consider your request and discuss it with the involved parties. If they agree, then you can join the cause. It'll be up to you to prove that you can handle it."

"Sounds fair," Cloud said. "I'm going to heat up some pasta. Are you hungry?"

"Not for Zack's leftovers, no."

"Suit yourself. He makes damn good pasta." He stood in the kitchen to eat, pondering how to deal with the situation. He still wasn't sure what to make of Genesis, but after that comment about how fragile humans are, he understood Genesis was intentionally trying not to like him. He could work with that. 

Plate cleaned and put away like usual, Cloud headed back to the table. Genesis was occupied with his PHS. 

"Do you think Seph is okay?" Cloud asked as he sat down. 

"I'm sure they're having a delightful amount of sex and then sleeping," Genesis replied without looking up. 

"You don't have to stay here if you want to join them," Cloud suggested, "I'm fine on my own."

Genesis shook his head, "They need time alone together. It's not always a big pile on, you know."

Cloud shrugged, "I don't really know how it works between you all. Not my business either really."

Genesis raised an eyebrow, "Oh, but isn't it your business if Zack is involved?"

"That's different. You're not hurting him."

"No more than he wants at least."

Cloud's face flushed at the thoughts that brought to mind. Genesis chuckled at him. 

"You're at least a little curious about how everything ... fits together, aren't you."

Cloud looked away, unable to meet those knowing eyes. "I should get some work done. I've wasted the day already."

"Are you really in any condition for that? Focusing on small details is just going to aggravate your headache."

"Thank you for your concern, but it'll be alright. That's what the drugs are for," he said, heading to the couch where he'd left his laptop plugged in. The cartoons were still on from yesterday. Eventually Genesis came in, taking a seat on the love-seat with a book in hand. 

He managed a few hours of work before admitting, to himself at least, that Genesis was right. His head was aching far too much for this. He closed the laptop, set it back on the table, and wandered back to the guest room, flopping onto the bed with his face buried in the pillow.

He felt the bed dip and turned to see Genesis reclining on the bed next to him, still reading. The man reached out a hand and started running his fingers through Cloud's hair. Cloud sighed softly and melted into the pillow as the pain eased. "You have magic fingers," he mumbled. 

Genesis smirked, "You don't know the half of it."

Cloud buried his face in the pillow again, decidedly not thinking about what that meant. The magic fingers kept up their work and he soon drifted off to sleep. 

\--

Cloud woke feeling panicked and restrained. Genesis was holding him tight against him as he thrashed. "It's just a dream, Cloud. Wake up." Genesis took hold of the back of his neck with his teeth, like a dog with an unruly pup. The blond stilled, his breathing erratic but slowing. Blood dripped from Genesis' nose where a flailing limb had struck him. After a few moments, he relaxed his hold. "Are you alright?"

Cloud nodded but did not attempt to move.

"Zack didn't mention anything about you having night terrors," Genesis prodded.

"Probably because I don't. I can't even remember what it was, just this overwhelming dread that's still hanging on." He sighed. "I think I'll take a walk, clear my head out."

"No."

"No?"

"No. You're not wandering around an unfamiliar neighbourhood in the middle of the night."

"It's fine. I can look after myself, Genesis."

"If you want to be more to this family than just a snack, you'll take more care with your own safety."

"You don't even want me here. Better to rip the bandage off quick, isn't it? Get it over with? No one would blame you."

"Goddess, do you go out of your way to make my life difficult?"

Cloud wasn't sure if the question was actually addressed to some Goddess or if he was expected to respond. He said nothing either way. 

"Cloud, Zack has made it very clear that you shouldn't be left alone when you're not in a good state of mind."

"Zack tells people too much," he grumbled. 

"Zack rarely shuts up about his 'badass boyfriend' but you make him happy so we don't complain. He's like a puppy with a new favourite toy. Except only the boyfriend part is new. He's talked about you for years."

Cloud groaned, "I'm sorry."

Genesis shrugged, "At least he has decent taste."

"You think so?" Cloud asked with a laugh. 

"Indeed. Quite delicious."

"I thought you didn't want Zack's leftovers?"

Genesis scoffed, "It's not leftovers if he's still eating it. It's called sharing."

"You only changed your mind because you're hungry now, aren't you."

"Well, I wasn't lying when I said you smell good. Especially this close." Genesis grinned, "Besides, I've heard the best way to clear /your/ mind in particular is a good fuck or being fed on. Or both."

Cloud groaned, "Skies Above, I am going to smack him when he gets back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you ask me what Cloud's nightmare was about, I will give a (hopefully) vague and cryptic reply. So be careful what you ask for.


	26. Trust Me, I've Got a Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got a seat on the bus to finish writing this chapter.

The first thing Cloud discovered when he woke was that Genesis was a nighttime cuddler. There was no way he was getting out of the bed without waking him up to detangle. He could, however, reach his PHS. He silenced the ringer as soon as he grabbed it, just in case. Having someone's phone beep next to your ear was a terrible way to wake up. 

There were two messages that had come in at some point in the early morning. Both Tifa and Jessie had sent pictures of the sunrise as they set out on the road back to Midgar. 

With no new emails waiting for his attention, he decided to open up a digital book to read while he waited for Genesis to wake up. He looked up as he heard the door creak open. Angeal peered in and made the international gesture for "I'm going to make breakfast, want some?" Cloud gave him a thumbs up as best he could with his PHS in one hand and the other arm trapped in Genesis' grip. The dark haired man started to close the door again but Sephiroth pushed his way in. He climbed onto the bed behind Genesis and promptly went back to sleep curled up against him. Genesis didn't stir. It was clearly something he was used to. 

Cloud wasn't about to complain about the company. It was nice not waking up alone when Zack was gone. It was always one of the worst parts of Zack's job. Other than the whole risk of death. That was a pretty big downside. 

He dimmed the screen on his PHS, the brightness bothering his eyes. He made it a good ways in before Angeal poked his head in again. "Breakfast!"

Genesis sat up and stretched. "'Bout time," he grumbled. He climbed off the foot of the bed and claimed first rights to the bathroom. 

Cloud tapped the button to bookmark his page, slipped his PHS in his pocket, and headed out to the table. 

"Smells great!" he said enthusiastically as Angeal set a plate of food in front of him. 

Angeal smiled, "Thanks. You're looking a little bright eyed this morning. Feeling okay?"

"What? Oh. Genesis drools in his sleep."

"I do no such thing, and I will not stand for such defamatory comments," Genesis declared as he slid into one of the other seats. Seph was close behind. 

Angeal chuckled, "I suppose a constant mako drip through the night could be problematic."

"I do not drool!"

"You do sometimes," Seph said as he munched on a piece of bacon. "Not every time though."

Genesis huffed and decided to eat instead of replying. 

"Are you feeling okay though?" Angeal asked again. 

Cloud nodded, "Things.. feel a bit...more? But other than that I'm not noticing anything. I imagine it'll work itself out before long." He couldn't think of how to describe the feeling of it, but Angeal seemed to understand. 

He felt his PHS vibrate in his locked and glanced at the screen to see who was calling. "Be right back." He went into the guest room so he wouldn't bother the others. 

"Hey Cloud, what are your plans for today?"

"Hey Brian, not too sure. What's up?"

"We were thinking of heading up to Seventh Heaven, wanna come?"

"Nah, you don't want to go there. Tifa's still on holidays. You won't get a discount from Barret, you know he hates us 'miserable Shinra jerks'."

"Shit. Alright. Change of plans guys, we gotta go somewhere else." Cloud could hear groaning in the background. "Offer's still open if you want to come though. We should celebrate that promotion of yours."

"How does everyone keep finding out about that?"

"It was in the paper yesterday, you didn't know?"

"What paper?"

"The Tribune. There was a whole page write up about Shinra's new reactor safety supervisor. 'Shinra promotes a brilliant engineer to look after the safety and security of our city's rectors'."

Cloud groaned, "Please tell me there's nothing in there that'll get me in shit."

"Nah, it's all good man. Some stuff about how we're making the reactors more environmentally friendly or some shit. Making you out as some big hero."

"Who wrote this garbage?"

"Ummm, some guy named Mason? Just the one name. Listen, are you coming or not?"

Cloud sighed, "Message me when you figure out where and when, and I'll let you know. I have to be up early tomorrow though."

"Sure sure. Yeah, he's coming, boys. Figure out where we can get the good stuff for cheap."

Cloud hung up the call, leaving his old squad to sort out the details. 

\---

"I think that guy is checking you out!"

Cloud snorted, "I do have a boyfriend you know." He followed his friend's gaze. "And that guy is Avalanche, I've seen him on their site. He probably read that damn article."

"Shit. Think there's gonna be trouble?" 

Cloud shrugged and took a swig of his drink. "I'm sure we can handle it if there is." He watched the man's booth for a bit, surprised to see Mason's head pop out for a moment, with a nervous look on his face. "I'll be right back," he said to the group. 

He picked up his drink and moved to the booth, putting on a drunken grin. "Hey man! This guy bothering you? I can take him off your hands," he said, putting an arm around Mason's shoulders as he spoke to the other man. 

The man make a sound of disgust and left the table. Cloud took his seat. "You okay? Looked like you were a bit over your head."

Mason let out a sigh, "Yeah, thanks. It wasn't going so well."

"What do you expect when dealing with terrorists? Tea and crumpets? Dinner and a movie?"

Mason laughed, "You're right. They're not a very friendly crew. And they weren't so happy about the article about you painting Shinra in a positive light."

"I wasn't so fond of the idea either, but I haven't actually read it yet. It would have been nice to have had a heads up."

"I needed to fill the space with something, and I'd been thinking about what you said. You were right. This city needs more heroes, not more monsters."

"I'm pretty sure that's not exactly what I said, but it works."

"Sales actually went up too, so I guess I owe you one."

Cloud grinned, "Well, if that's the case, there is something you could do for me."

"Oh?"

"I need to know where you copied those notes about the Soldiers from."

"Any chance of getting them back if I tell you?"

Cloud shook his head, "Nope. I don't have them anymore."

"Do I want to know what happened to them?"

"Oh, you'd probably like to know, but I'm not going to tell you."

Mason pulled out a notebook, scribbled an address on it and tore out the sheet, sliding it across the table. "Got time tomorrow at the office? I've actually been asked for a follow up article on the reactor improvements." 

Cloud nodded. He tore off half the sheet of paper, borrowed the pen, and wrote down the office phone number. "After eleven, just to be sure I'm there. And do not publish that number. The rest of the world can go through reception first." They both pocketed their halves of the paper. 

"Will you be alright? I can call you a cab if you want to get out of here," Cloud suggested. 

Mason shook his head, "I live nearby. I'll be fine."

"Be careful. You're making yourself a target too if you keep this up," Cloud warned. 

Mason laughed, "I'm new to Midgar, but I'm not new to journalism. We're always pissing someone off."

Cloud nodded, getting up from the table. He decided to take a detour to the bathroom before going back to his table. 

Once in the privacy of the small stall he took a picture of the address Mason had given him. He sent it to Genesis with an offer to check it out for, or with, him. He flushed the paper and went to wash his hands. 

He ignored the person at the other sink, until they moved into his personal space. 

"You smell too much," the figure said from deep within their hood. 

"Sorry?" 

"There's still a trace of him though, under everyone else. It'll have to do." The figure turned swiftly and left. 

Cloud stared at the swinging door. "What the hell? I need to stop using public bathrooms."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting a little complicated from my end, so I won't promise daily updates. These chapters are picking their own length. We often don't agree but they win every time.


	27. Ready or Not, Got a Date with Danger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep forgetting to mention that I use / to indicate italics. Font formatting doesn't copy over when I post from my phone.

Cloud sat back at his original table, finding most of the group had left while he was otherwise occupied. He shook his head when the waitress asked if he wanted another drink. It was getting late, and he wasn't going to risk drinking too much when he knew he had to be up early. Especially when he was expecting a call from a reporter. That would go over real well if Mason decided to publish that the 'reactor safety specialist' was hung over at work. Not to mention his regular early morning meeting would prove an extra challenge. 

"So how are things with that boyfriend of yours? He's gone an awful lot," Brian asked. 

Cloud shrugged, "Its the nature of the job. I knew that going in. But things are good."

"Are you sure?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Brian leaned in a bit, "You know some of us military types end up with a girl in every city. Stricklyn's been doing it for years. His wife still doesn't have a clue."

"Why am I friends with you?"

"Because I'm the lovable ass of the group, of course," he grinned. 

"Zack's not like that. If he has something going on, we talk about it."

"So he /is/ sleeping around. He's too good looking to settle down. You're okay with that?"

Cloud sighed, "Its complicated and I really don't want to talk about it with you of all people."

"Hey man, not judging. As long as you're okay with it and no one is getting hurt, there's nothing wrong with it."

"So happy to have your approval," Cloud said dryly. "Anyway, it's been fun but I've gotta get home. Morning sneaks up with a vengeance."

"Yeah sure. If you change your mind, I'm always up to chat."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind," he said, standing. He dropped some money on the table to cover his share of the drinks and headed outside. 

He pulled out his PHS, surprised to find it was even later than he had expected. /Not An Emergency. Hey Seph, I'm just going to head home, it's closer. Don't wait up./ He had told him this was likely to be what happened but it was just polite to say for sure. Angeal and Genesis had planned to stay the night, so Seph wouldn't be alone either way. He could make do without his laptop tomorrow. There was still the desktop in the office he could set up, and everything was saved to the network anyway. 

/Will you be alright?/ came the reply. 

/Yeah, headed straight to bed. My 9 am meetings are pretty demanding. All good. Night Seph. Sleep well./ He tucked the PHS back in his pocket and climbed in the cab that had finally arrived. 

\--

Cloud was deep asleep until he felt his arm being lifted and smelled the distinct scent of a freshly showered Zack. He pulled him into his arms and snuggled tightly. "You're back early."

Zack yawned, "Yeah, got done quicker than expected and hopped the first chopper back. Missed you."

"Missed you too. What time is it?"

"Two I think?"

"Plenty of snuggle time. Are you hungry?"

He felt Zack shake his head, "I'm good. Wasn't even a tough job, and I swung by Seph's on the way. Snuggles is good. Sleep now. You be big spoon."

Cloud laughed, "Mmkay. I can do that."

\--

Monday mornings were a bane on the existence of everyone who had to be up before noon. Zack was not one of those people, not today at least. The first day back from a mission was always a day off. Cloud on the other hand had dragged himself out of bed (much to Zack's complaints) and into work. 

He was actually happy to see the two Turks in his office when he got there at ten thirty. Well, more happy to see the steaming cup of coffee and pastry that was waiting for him. 

"Late night?"

Cloud nodded and inhaled the smell of the caffeinated ambrosia. "Anything new?"

"Not really. Things have been pretty quiet. Calm before the storm and all that." Reno put his feet up on the desk. Cloud glared at him, but didn't have the energy to do anything about it just yet. 

"So you're just hiding here in case someone finds some actual work for you?"

"It's as good a place as any," Reno shrugged. "So what exciting plans are on the plate today?"

Cloud pulled up his calendar on his PHS, just in case that was a hint that he'd missed something. Nothing new had been added. "Might get a call after 11 from that reporter, so mostly camping out in here and working on paperwork." He laughed at the disgusted look on Reno's face at the word paperwork. "Jessie'll be back tomorrow so I'll have to catch her up on events then. Didn't feel right to tell her by text."

"Lookit you, being all managerific."

"Do you just make up words whenever you feel like it?"

"Do you think anyone is really going to tell me I can't?"

"Not if they like their organs internal, no. I suppose not."

Reno grinned, "You're not a complete lost cause. Still a bit of an idiot, but getting there."

"I thought I was out of the idiot category by now."

"You're still involved with Zack and his gaggle of laboratory rejects so the jury's still out in some regards."

"Hey now, they're good people."

"Sure, if you don't mind being considered a food source. Which you clearly don't. You want to sleep with the wolves, that's your choice. Nothing I say is going to change your mind."

"Then why do you keep bringing it up?"

"There's always the chance you'll change your own mind? I hate to see potential wasted when we can still use it."

"Thanks. It's so nice to be appreciated," Cloud said dryly. His PHS beeped, and he checked the notification. "Well, I guess the rest of the week's schedule is set now."

Reno pulled out his own device as it beeped. "Sweet. You get to meet my bird."

"Are we going to get there in one piece or should I make sure to grab a parachute?" Cloud asked as he went to the closet to gather his emergency bag. Some of the latest modified test uniforms had been hung up, so he shoved them in the bag. /Might as well field test them/, he thought. 

"Now that's unfair. I only crash when I want to."

"Not reassuring." He shouldered his bag and followed the Turks out of the office, locking the door behind him. He tried calling Zack, but got voicemail and hung up. He wasn't going to leave the details while in a public hallway. "Guess I'll have to fill Zack in later, probably still sleeping." He sent Sephiroth a quick message apologizing that he wouldn't be back to grab his things for a few days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had various thoughts on how this coming week was going to go for Cloud, took a while to decide. 
> 
> If there are any characters you'd like to see show up, or would like to see more of, please let me know! (Either here or on Tumblr - same name) While the big pieces are falling into place plot planning wise, there's still a change to see what other people are up to.


	28. No Sure Warning Ever Heard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monday. Junion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, had to finish the next part before I could post this part, just in case I needed to change anything.

Zack grabbed his PHS out of the locker before they left the VR room. He frowned at the several hour old list of missed calls. "Cloud was really trying to get through. I hope everything is okay."

"I have a message as well," Sephiroth said, showing Zack his screen. 

"What's going on?" He wondered. He tried Cloud's number and got a busy signal. He frowned at the device some more, nearly dropping it as he walked into someone in the hall. "Rude! What's going on?"

"There you are!"

Rude didn't respond to Zack, turning instead to Reno as he approached. 

"Shouldn't you two be following my boyfriend around?"

Reno shook his head, "Out of our jurisdiction for now." The redhead turned to his partner and the two started walking away. "Aww man, I was going to take a pass at the cannon, give him a good scare, but he was already looking pretty green just from the trip there. That kid does not do well with flying. Shame."

"Hey!" Zack shouted after them. "Aren't you going to tell me what's going on?"

"Maybe you shouldn't have ignored your phone," Reno said, shrugging. 

Zack moved to where the two Turks had stopped down the hall. "Damnit Reno, just tell me. Cloud messaged Seph that he'd be gone a few days. He's gonna crash if he's away that long."

"The kid'll be fine, got it all sorted out."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"What it means, Fair, is that you aren't needed." 

"I am going to punch that stupid grin off your face," Zack said, fingers clenched into fists. 

Sephiroth put his hand on Zack's shoulder. "You are letting him goad you into doing something stupid. There are other ways to get the answers. Come on."

\--

Cloud rubbed his eyes and took a drink from the bottle of water someone on the team had left for him when they called it a night. "That should keep things stable till tomorrow, at least." He leaned back in the chair and took a look at the time. It was much too late to try calling Zack. It was also too late for lunch. Or dinner for that matter. Breakfast would be available soon at the local restaurants, but he just wanted a bed. He dragged himself back to the supervisor's office where he had left his bag and collapsed on the couch. 

A knock at the door woke him from his dreaming. He pushed himself up, sitting on the couch, then waved to the person peering in the doorway to signal he was awake. They closed the door and left him to sort himself out. He checked the time and groaned. Less than three hours sleep. What had he been thinking. Right. Reactor. They hadn't actually fixed anything yet. 

He pulled the vial he'd been given him out of his pocket and studied the label. It was marked with the Shinra logo, a plentitude of warning labels, and nothing else. He popped the top off and poured one of the capsules into his hand. It was warm from being in his pocket while he slept, and the colour made him uneasy. He couldn't risk crashing with what he had planned for today, so he took it. The throbbing in his head soon eased, and while the pill had none of the side effects he'd come to enjoy when getting mako from Zack (or the others really, though Zack came with extra advantages too), it would definitely keep him from slipping into the dangerous symptoms of withdrawal. And it wasn't making him sleepy. The opposite in fact, and his stomach had stopped complaining quite so loudly. He changed into one of the test suits, grabbed his toolkit, and headed to the control room. 

\--

Zack dialled Cloud's number again, surprised when it actually started ringing. He paced the office while he waiting for his boyfriend to answer. Sephiroth glared at him over the desk, and Zack took the hint to sit down. 

"Is this Zack?"

"It is. Who the hell are you?"

"This is Quinn at the Junion Reactor. I've been told to tell you 'everything is fine, be home as soon as possible.'"

"Clearly everything is not fine if he's not answering his own calls and he's in Junion."

"The situation is under control." There was some shouting in the background, and a beep as someone tried and failed to hang up the call. Zack could make out voices in the background. 

"Systems are back up, we've got surveillance and an incoming call on the maintenance line."

"Go ahead," came the voice that had answered the call. 

"I need you to close off the ventilation to this section and switch off the emergency sprinklers." That one was Cloud. Zack was relieved to hear his voice, muffled and distant as it was. "This leak needs to be welded shut."

"You're insane. That'll start a flash fire with that concentration of fumes in there."

"The doors are closed. With the vents closed off too it'll burn out fast. You can turn everything back on when I signal that the breach is sealed. Should only take a minute."

"Are you sure there isn't a better option? Hell, can you even hold your breath long enough?"

"The longer we spend talking about this, the longer I'm breathing in this crap instead of useful air so I'd like to just get this done and get out. It worked in the simulations."

"Shit. Alright, do it." Zack heard cursing and the call ended, the person at the other end realizing the line was still open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second part of this will go up probably Tuesday? That part is just shy of 1600 words. Weee.


	29. You are Fragile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monday to ... what day is it now? You should probably figure that out, Cloud. It might be important to know.

He hoped the suit was as good as they'd planned it, or this was going to be one hell of a mess. When put on properly, there was no exposed skin. The soft respiratory filter tucked into the fabric pocket rose up in the front section to cover to just below the eyes. (It wasn't doing anything for the fumes, but it had been designed for particulate, not gas.) The hood came up from the back to cover his hair and forehead, and properly situated goggles covered what little flesh remained. (The coloured tint of the goggles also hid the faint glow in his eyes quite well, he'd noted while getting ready.)

The suit should be able to resist the fire. It wasn't going to be comfortable, but there shouldn't be any actual burning. Of course, this was the field test of this particular version. Reeve's people had done well in making his suggested changes, but there was always something reassuring about testing the material when you /weren't/ wearing it first. 

Holding his breath he knew wouldn't be a problem. He'd learned how to do that well as a kid. It was a better option than drowning. 

The flames flared fast, everywhere seeming to ignite at once. He had to work fast. It was burning up the oxygen the torch needed to function. Luckily there wasn't a lot that needed doing, and the falling snow was helping to keep the heat at bay. (Snow? Hallucinating already?) Job done, he turned off the torch and waited for everything to burn out, the mako filled air in his lungs burning.

Cloud felt something nudge his leg and looked down to see a grey wolf poking him with its nose. /I'm still hallucinating,/ he thought as he scratched behind its ears. He turned his back against the wall and slid down, pulling his knees against his chest so he could rest his head on them. The wolf settled itself, laying across his feet with a weight he knew was only in his mind. He'd wait for someone to come get him, lacking the energy to find the door again. He closed his eyes as he heard the ventilation fans kick in. 

He felt comfortably numb when he woke. He wasn't even bothered that he couldn't seem to move. There was something clear and plasticky covering his face, but it felt a mile away. Something for someone else to worry about. 

"You awake in there kid?"

He blinked a few times and nodded slowly. He was fairly sure he knew who was talking, even if they were just a smudge. 

"Listen, they've got you drugged up pretty bad, but you're okay. They figure the fumes are to blame but things went a little nutso and they had to knock you out before anyone got hurt. No one has explained the three feet of snow you were buried under yet, but we've got top men making something up for that."

Cloud blinked at him, hoping that would convey the confusion he was feeling. 

"Anyone asks you anything about what happened don't answer, okay?"

That part was easy, he didn't have a clue what happened. Cloud nodded and closed his eyes again. He'd done enough work for the day. The Turk could deal with it, that's what he got paid the big bucks for. 

When he woke again, there were familiar scents in the air and he was being lifted out of the bed. His head fell against Zack's chest as his boyfriend carried him. "Let's get you out of here, Spike." He felt Zack kiss the top of his head and smiled. He couldn't manage to keep his eyes open, so he wasn't sure where they were going. He could smell Sephiroth's unique scent, and the distinct blend of Reno's coffee with the apple shampoo from the Turk's shower, when he sniffed the air, and knew there was nothing to worry about. 

He dozed in and out on the helicopter ride back to Midgar, too many sedatives in his system to keep conscious for long. His stomach was happier with that arrangement though. 

By the time they got to Sephiroth's, he was functioning enough to protest against being treated like an invalid any longer. He regretted it the moment Zack set him on his feet and he felt the pain the drugs had been masking shoot up his side. He bit the inside of his cheeks to keep from crying out and getting the 'told you so' look from Zack. 

"Brought a change of clothes if you want to try having a shower," Zack said, gesturing to a bag that Reno helpfully lifted up to display like it was a prize on a game show. 

Cloud nodded and held his hand out for the bag. "I'll call you if I have any trouble."

Zack looked about to argue, but Sephiroth shook his head. "Alright. We'll be here if you need anything." Cloud heard Zack muttering as he closed the bathroom door that if there was the slightest bang or thump, he'd be coming in to check on him. 

Cloud smiled at the closed door. He appreciated Zack's concern, but he needed to get some aspect of his life back under his control again. He'd lost several days, with no memories of what had occurred, and it made him uneasy. 

He set the bag down on the counter, and decided on step one. He slowly pulled off his shirt, wincing freely now that he was without an audience. He used the mirror to examine the five long jagged scars wrapping around his side to his back. They were tender to the touch, like a shit cure job had only scarred up the surface and left underneath torn. 

He raided the medicine cabinet for one of the potions he knew Sephiroth kept hidden behind the standard supplies. It reduced the pain from shards of broken glass to just bruised. He knew there would be questions later, there was no way he could hide it from Zack for long. He wished he had answers. 

There was a quick knock on the door before Reno walked in. He closed the door behind him. "Sorry kid, nature calls. I can't believe this place only has one bathroom." 

"But what a bathroom," Cloud said, grinning. He looked away as the Turk made use of the facilities and moved aside to give him room to use the sink. 

"It is a truly great representation of the ingenuity of man. Those are new," the redhead said, glancing at the marks on Cloud's side. 

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. What the hell happened in there? I remember fixing the leak and that's it."

"I think you passed out and missed whatever came after. It wasn't pretty, whatever it was." 

"Did I-"

"No," Reno said firmly. "Whatever went down, you were just a bystander, kid."

"I never expected life to be this messy."

"With a name like Strife, what did you expect life to throw at you?"

"Yes," Cloud said dryly, "I have never once in my life heard that joke."

"Maybe you and Fair should get hitched, try a new name on."

Cloud laughed, "I thought you didn't approved of our relationship."

Reno shrugged, "Over the last few days, I have seen the mountains he will move to keep you safe. If that ain't love, I don't know what is. And only a fool gets in the way of that. I better get an invite to the wedding though."

Cloud smiled, "If it ever happens, you'll be the first to know, I'm sure."

"In the meantime, you should get a new dog. Liven the place up a bit."

"A new dog?"

"Shit. You haven't checked your email yet have you."

Cloud frowned and pulled his PHS from his pocket. There was an email from Jessie. 

/Hey Cloud, looks like you're off saving the world again. I miss all the fun! Biggs filled me in when I got back. Congrats on the promotion! I expect you to keep looking the other way while I work on personal projects at work. (Just kidding, Turks!)

I don't know if you've heard from your mom yet. She was pretty upset. We found her burying your old dog the morning we left. Tifa said that he used to follow you all over the place. I'm sorry to pass on the news this way if you hadn't heard, but I needed to say something, y'know? Anyway, let us take you out for dinner when you get back. We'll regale you with the tales of our grand adventures. Tifa sends her love and offers discount drinks, like usual. (She just punched me for that one.)/

"Reno, I never had a dog. Mom didn't believe in keeping pets."

Reno was frowning now too. "Is this one of your secret codes or something?"

Cloud shook his head, "If it is, I don't know what it means. Could you-"

"Yeah, no problem. I'll get someone to check on them. Maybe it was just a wild dog she found and they misunderstood."

"Yeah," Cloud agreed without conviction. His mom wouldn't bury a strange animal. She would leave it to the carrion eaters to deal with, just drag it further from the house if anything. Circle of life and all that. 

Reno started dialling a number as he walked back to the door. "Do the shower thing, you smell like the labs. It's gross. And if you take too long in here you're going to get a crowd at the door listening to make sure you're still alive."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mini-hiatus. Finally got the details for an anthology I was invited to more than a year ago, so I need to get that written. (I don't want to be the one slowing everything down.) It's only 3-5k, which is my usual range (this fic is an outlier adn should not be counted) so hopefully shouldn't take too long. I'm 500 words in so far, with the start and end written. (But I've also got to finish a 270k novel I'm editing for someone so there's that too. Not enough hours in the day...)


	30. I'm Looking Forward to Joining You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a short Friday night chapter while I remember what I'm doing.

Reno finished his call just outside the bathroom and messaged Cloud a thumbs up. He got a thank you back and then heard the sound of the shower starting. He headed back to the tv room where the others were waiting. Well, Sephiroth was waiting. Zack, on the other hand, was wearing a hole into the floor with his pacing. He practically leapt towards Reno as he came through the doorway, but the Turk easily side stepped. "He's fine, Fair. Settle your ass down before you smother him with your concern."

Zack glared at him, but took a seat on the edge of the couch. "What the hell happened?"

"There's something about that kid that just brings out the crazies, present company included."

Sephiroth smiled a bit at that, and nodded slightly. Neither of them argued the accusation. 

"As for what happened," Reno started, sitting down on the love seat with his forearms resting on his legs as he leaned forward, PHS still in hand, "other than it being a complete shit show, we don't know much. Near as we can tell from what little footage there is, a group of people went in for rescue and clean up and once they got there decided to split into two groups and tear each other's throats out instead. Literally."

Zack grimaced, "Have you told him?"

"No. We're not going to. He'll find some way of blaming himself for it and that's not good for anyone. He's reckless enough as it is."

"Are you taking steps to cover this up? He is resourceful and good at finding information," Sephiroth added. 

Reno gave him an offended look. "Already done, of course. The only reason I'm telling you two about this is, well, I think he's going to need all the help he can get. And I think you can be trusted to look out for him."

"You think this was some kind of attack?"

"I don't know what's going on," Reno said, the words almost paining him to say, "but I don't like it. There's too many moving parts we don't know-" He stopped talking when he heard the bathroom door open and leaned back in his seat. 

Cloud walked into the room and glared at Zack.

"What?" Zack laughed. 

Cloud grabbed the bottom of his shirt dramatically. "Chocobo pyjamas. This is what you bring me. And these aren't even ones I've seen before. Where do you keep buying these?"

Zack grinned, "My secret supplier. I'm putting his kids through college. Now get over here."

He tried to keep up his grumpy expression but he couldn't help but smile as Zack pulled him down into his lap. He'd missed him over the last week. He snuggled up against his boyfriend's chest and let Zack bury his face in his mostly dry hair. 

"You smell weird when you use Seph's shampoo. We need to keep a bottle of yours here."

"If you don't like it, you could just stop sniffing me."

"I didn't say it was bad, just weird."

"Well, you're weird."

Zack squeezed him in a tight hug, "I'm so glad you're home."

"I missed you too. But we're not at home so please mind where you're putting your hands."

"No one minds," Zack said with a chuckle. "I'm sure Reno has recorded worse, and he knows where the door is. And Seph would love to join in."

"Zack!"

"What? It's true. He thinks you're delicious."

Cloud's face was starting to go red. "And since when do you want to share?" 

"I've had a lot of time to think. I've been very selfish keeping you to myself."

"If all parties are agreeable..." Sephiroth said with hesitation. 

"That's his way of saying 'please let me be the other slice of bread in your chocobo sandwich.'"

"Zack!"

"I can't tell if that's a yes or no."

Reno stood suddenly. "I think I'll leave now before there's any risk of being splattered with whatever bodily fluids you science experiments have. Some of us still have work to do."

"Okay, have fun," Zack replied, only half paying attention. 

Reno slammed the door loudly behind him as he left and headed out to the car where his partner was waiting. "Can you believe those guys? World's going to hell and they're fucking around." Rude shrugged. "No, I'm not jealous. At least the tape'll be worth someone else buying coffee for the next week. Come on, someone has to do some work around here, and we should give them the stuff to do it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have not finished the thing I should be writing but this ended up existing anyway.


	31. Work Your Way Beyond the Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saturday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am super behind on replying to people! Sorry! Bad writer. Bad!
> 
> I'm half way through the story I have to write for that thing, and finished the editing of that 276k book so... progressu.

Cloud was disappointed to wake alone, but when he saw that he had slept past breakfast, he could forgive them for wandering off. Someone had kindly tucked the stuffed chocobo into his arms at least, and left some water on the nightstand. Typical. He drank the entire bottle before sliding over to the edge of the bed and reaching for the neatly folded chocobo pyjamas that were the only clothes he had available. (He would have to start stashing some real clothes here, if this was going to be a habit.) 

Fully dressed, he wandered out to find everyone else. He found the pair seated at the table, having lunch. Zack held out his arms and Cloud climbed onto his lap. He eyed the plate. Zack chuckled and fed him what turned out to be a homemade French fry. 

"How come you're in uniform?" Cloud asked as he stole some more fries from the plate. "It's Saturday isn't it?"

"There's been a meeting called," Sephiroth said as he set down a new plate of food for Cloud. "You are welcome to stay here while we are gone."

"Actually," Cloud said around a bite of sandwich, "if you're going to the office, I wouldn't mind going too. Check on the plants and catch up on the paperwork I've missed."

"You are willing to do paperwork on a day off?" Zack said. "Do you want to do mine too?"

Cloud snorted, "Not a chance."

"And you're willing to go out dressed like that?"

"I've got clothes in my office. I'm not going to run into anyone in my area on a Saturday."

"You work with smart people. I have, of course, snuck off home to grab you something else to wear." Zack gestured to a bag near the bathroom door. "Figured you'd want to come."

"Good boyfriend," Cloud said, patting him on the head.

Zack laughed and buried his face in the soft chocobo hair. 

The ride to the office was uneventful, and they parted ways in the lobby to take separate elevators. The halls were as empty as he expected, but his office door was ajar and he could clearly see light coming from behind it. He cursed under his breath as he realized he hadn't gotten his knives back after the Junion fiasco. 

He pushed the door open slowly with his foot and let out a sigh of relief. "Jessie!"

Jessie shrieked as she spun around. "Cloud! You ass. Don't sneak up on people like that."

"Well, it is /my/ office. But never mind that, what is that smell?"

"Ummm. Birds." She tipped the box on his desk so he could see in. "Figured I'd get them cleaned up before you came back."

"Do I want to know why?"

"You know how some people have fan clubs?"

"Yeah.."

"Looks like you've got the opposite."

"Gross. Comes with the job I guess. Zack's gonna love this."

"You could just not tell him," Jessie suggested. 

"If people are going to be leaving dead animals on my desk, he'll hear about it anyway. Better it comes from me. He may be a bit over protective but I can't deny I give him good reason for it. First chat is with security though. How the hell did someone even get this far in the building with that?"

"Well, it wasn't all at once. I didn't want to freak anyone out taking them to the trash so I saved them up for when everyone was gone."

"Ugh. I'm sorry, Jessie."

Jessie shrugged. "Just doing my part to help you save the world," she grinned. "So what the hell happened in Junion?"

Cloud took his seat at the desk, "Looked like a stress fracture. I think they need to up the maintenance checks out there. Being underwater puts a lot of pressure on the structure."

"Okay but I wasn't talking about the reactor. You disappeared for most of a week. We were only told you were unavailable."

"I don't know."

"You don't know."

"That is what I said, yes."

"Wedge heard you'd been kidnapped by mad scientists. Biggs said someone told him you'd gotten mauled by a bear and bled to death."

Cloud laughed, "This is what you guys do when I'm gone? Where do they hear this stuff?"

Jessie shrugged, "No clue, but it's not like anyone was telling us anything."

"Hopefully the Turks can figure something out," Cloud shrugged. 

"Turks? What the hell have you gotten yourself into this time?"

"It came with the job."

"Biggs didn't mention anything about Turks when he filled me in," Jessie said, frowning. 

"It's no big deal, they mostly just hang around to keep an eye on things."

"Are they watching right now?"

"There's probably someone watching the cameras, but they're in some big meeting right now for the most part. I told them I'd be staying put here for a while."

"But you're not planning to, are you."

"Feel like helping out with a little project?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life of a Chocobo art commission got. http://illusioneery.tumblr.com/post/159961903770/a-commission-for-asylos-who-asked-for-a-pretty 
> 
> I loves it.


	32. The Things I Haven't Done Kill Me

Reno frowned as the pair of new Turks he'd left watching the kid snuck into the meeting room. Unfortunately there wasn't time to ask what the hell they were doing. The briefing was starting. 

"As you likely know, there have been several attacks on Shinra's reactors in the last six months. Avalanche has claimed responsibility for the bomb in reactor 7, and the attempted melt down at reactor 3. They've also claimed responsibility for the issues in Junion, but we know for a fact that was not sabotage but, according to the report, 'gross incompetence in maintenance', so we'll have to take their claims with a grain of salt, as it were." The man paused to flip through some papers. He was one of Reeve's men, Reno knew. He didn't care enough to remember his name or position at the moment. 

"The Midgar reactors are fairly secure in terms of their systems at this point but there's little we can do from a technical standpoint to deal with actual damage to them. Preventative measures for security are best. We have received a number of threats.

"The small town reactors are the next challenge. We've managed to clear a few troubleshooters we can send out, but we're having trouble clearing their teams in time. We know Avalanche has their claws in some of our people. Which is where you soldiers come in. We'll be sending one of you with each engineering team, to protect from outside threats and watch for inside ones. You will be given a direct line to the Midgar troubleshooter in case you run into problems or need to check if something is going according to procedure."

"Why don't you just send in the Midgar troubleshooter to begin with?" one of the soldiers asked. 

"For one thing, it would take too long for one person to get to all of the reactors. For another, we need to keep him here. Midgar has a lot of reactors in a densely populated area, and we've received some very specific threats. We need our best on call here."

"What are the nature of these threats?" Zack asked from his seat next to Sephiroth in the front row. 

"That information is on a need to know basis," Tseng said from his seat on the other end of the row, "and you were not invited to this briefing."

Reno grinned, imagining the outraged look on Zack's face, which he sadly could not see from the back of the room. 

Sephiroth elbowed Zack in the ribs before he could retort. 

"You know they're taking about Cloud," Zack hissed. 

"All necessary precautions are being taken to protect our people," Reeve's man said, hoping it would settle the discussion. "Assignments will be handed out over the next few days as the schedule is worked out. This is top priority as far as the President and board are concerned. Any slip ups could jeopardize not only Shinra staff and property, as well as the local population, but our relations with other nations as well." He gathered his papers and headed for the door, not staying for any further questions. That wasn't in his pay grade. The room started to quickly clear out after that as everyone was eager to get back to their weekend. 

"So, please explain, in as few words as possible, why you are here instead of watching your assigned target," Reno said as they walked over to the late Turk arrivals. 

The two looked at each other before looking back at Reno. They were sweating nervously, fidgeting. "He said he was going to stay in the office until the meeting was out."

"And you believed this. Is it your first goddamn day? How did you even get this far? Don't answer that. I don't care and anything you say is likely to lead to my shooting you in the face and I don't want the paperwork." He pulled out his PHS and called Cloud. It rang only once before being picked up. "Don't tell me you're where I think you are."

"Okay."

"Cloud?"

"Yes?"

"Where the fuck are you?"

"You just told me not to tell you."

"Goddamnit. Zack is a saint to put up with you."

"Aww, I love you too Reno. I'm going to hang up now. We'll be back soon."

"We?"

The line disconnected. Reno called back and cursed. "Little shit turned it off."

\--

The lobby at reactor 7 stank of fire and gasoline. He should have expected it. They couldn't really leave the doors open to air the place out. No wonder no one came back to work here yet. /That and some of them are dead,/ he reminded himself bitterly. 

The room was in much the same state as when he had left it, except for the thick black soot covering every surface. Most of the contents had not been very flammable. The desk was metal, so were the robots. The carpet was gone though, and the lights. They'd planned ahead for that, and Jessie was carrying a pair of portable spot lights in her bag in addition to the step ladder slung over her shoulder. 

Using the light coming through the doorway from the next room, they made their way in and set up the lights. Cloud picked the robot that looked to be in the best condition and Jessie set up one of the lights aimed at it.

"So what are we looking for?" she asked. "Cause I really don't feel like it's a good idea to be here right now."

"The plans for these are missing off the network," Cloud said, gesturing to the robots. "Nothing in Jared's files, and Wedge, goddess love him, didn't keep a back up."

"Idiot."

"Yeah. There's an automatic back up running now." Cloud set up the step ladder next to the bot. He used a screwdriver to pry open the control panel. From the top step he could reach into it. "I'm hoping we can recover something. Or at least figure out why."

"Myyyssstteerrriooouusssss."

Cloud laughed. "You tease but you'd hate to see good tech get wasted too. And if we can get them working safely again, they can get back to patrolling."

"True. I still can't believe how much happened while I was on vacation."

"It's been an interesting couple of weeks, that's for sure."

"Clearly you all need adult supervision."

"Ha. Yeah." 

"Why are you so hung up on this though? Let someone else deal with it. You don't need to be here."

"People died, Jessie. There are kids out there who are never going to see their parents again. What if I could have stopped it, if I'd just paid more attention to what Jared was doing."

"Cloud, you can't blame yourself for what you didn't know to do."

"It can't happen again." Cloud leaned over into the opening of the machine, reaching deeper in to unscrew a section. "Take this," he said, holding the piece of electronics out without taking his head out from the machine. He waited. "Jessie?"

The punch to the face took him by surprise as he turned around, making him stumble from the step ladder, bouncing the back of his head off the body of the robot as he fell. He groaned as the world slowly came back into focus. He reached for one of his knives as someone grabbed his other arm to yank him upright. This was what he'd been training for. 

He slashed out as he reached his feet, taking his attacker by surprise. The man stumbled back, clutching at his throat before collapsing to the floor in a heap. Cloud saw movement out of the corner of his eye but didn't have the room to move away before something struck him in the side of the head. Everything span again. He growled, shaking his head to try to clear the feeling.

"Not the head, he's no good if you leave his brains on the floor," he heard someone say from the darkness beyond the flood light. 

Cloud grinned. If they planned on getting information from him, it put him at an advantage. He was not concerned if they didn't survive the fight. But where the hell was Jessie? He couldn't make out much in the shadows, the light was too close and burned out his night vision. 

Then the guns came out. With a sigh, Cloud did what he'd been taught and dropped the knife, hands raised. Why did no one ever want to fight fair?

"Well, you're not a complete idiot," one of the men said as he grabbed Cloud's hands, taping them together in front of him with a generous amount of duct tape. 

"Gee thanks. Flattery will get you anywhere."

"I somehow doubt you'll make this that easy."

"Challenges are a good test of character," Cloud replied. He recognized this one. The guy Mason had been sitting with at the bar. (Terrorists? In my reactor? Clearly it had been more likely than he'd thought.) Why had they come back here?

"Got any more weapons I should know about?"

"And here I thought we just agreed I wasn't the cooperating type."

The man sighed. "Let's just go have a nice chat in the control room."

"Sounds delightful. Will there be tea and crumpets? Finger sandwiches?"

"You might have some trouble typing if we start cutting off fingers."

"Ooh, so threatening. You must be popular." Cloud grinned at him and the man shoved him down in the office chair before taping his bound hands to one of its arms. "Though I don't think there will be much typing with all this tape." He wiggled his hands as dramatically as he could. 

The man took the roll of tape and started wrapping it around him to restrain him in the chair. He then wheeled the chair and it's unwilling passenger over to the screen. "I guess I'll have to do the typing for now."

"Shall I dictate my novel to you? It's full of adventure. Not so much on the romance." /Just keep talking. They've gotta be here soon./

"I think I'd prefer the security passcode." The man looked up towards the door, where one of his men was poking his head in. "What's wrong?"

"There's a lot of noise coming from the lobby," he started, interrupted by a loud scream in the distance. 

Cloud frowned. Loud was not Reno's style. But apparently it was working as it drew everyone out of the room. He sighed and looked down at the mess of tape. 

There were a few more screams, and the occasional loud thump, steadily moving closer to the control room. He had made no progress on the restraints by the time someone came through the doorway. 

The figure was hooded and bloody. Actually they looked an awful lot like that person who had sniffed him in the bathroom. (It seemed like that was months ago.)

"What?"

"You really can't keep a Strife out of trouble. You're as bad as your father."

"What?"

"Is that the only word you know?"

Cloud growled, "No."

The man chuckled. "Good. I was starting to worry you'd been hit on the head too many times." 

"You know my dad?" Cloud asked, ignoring the comment. 

"Knew."

"Knew?"

"Bit late for the family reunion. Sorry." He stopped, tilting his head to the side, listening. "Your mate is coming soon. Sleep so you can maybe stay out of trouble till then."

"Wait!" Cloud felt the spell dragging him under and strongly regretted that he hadn't been conscious long enough to get that headband while in Junion. This Sleep crap was really getting on his nerves. First Genesis, now this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written in so many pieces. So many.


	33. Still Running

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cloud's been an angsty little pain in my butt over the last couple weeks. He just won't let me give him a break.

Cloud had never before been so grateful to be slapped across the face. He hadn't been able to wake himself from the stream of violent nightmares that had plagued him since the spell had taken hold. 

"I'm so glad you're alright," Zack said, holding him tightly, albeit awkwardly. He let go and pulled out a knife to deal with the tape holding Cloud to the chair. 

"Zack, I'm going to move out," Cloud said quietly. 

Zack stopped cutting and put the knife back in its sheath. "Seph, could you step out and close the door please." Sephiroth frowned but did as he was asked, just in time to stop a familiar redheaded Turk from entering. 

Zack picked up a folding chair that was leaning against the wall and set it up in front of Cloud. "Now, the fact that I can tell you're trying very hard not to cry when you say that tells me that's not something you want to do but something you feel like you should do. And you've pretty clearly phrased it to say it's not open for further discussion. I don't think that's fair. And since you're not really in a position to walk away from this conversation, we're going to have it."

"Zack, I don't think this is the time or place for this."

"If we don't do this here and now, you're not going to let it happen, and we're both going to be miserable for probably no good reason."

"Zack.. it would be better for you if I left."

"Stop making decisions for me, Cloud. Give me the information I need to decide for myself."

"I don't really know what's going on. I just ... I don't want anyone to hurt you."

"I /am/ a super powered soldier, in case you forgot. It takes a lot to hurt me. And if you're worried someone is going to hurt the people close to you, do you think suddenly leaving would just get rid of the possibility? No one is going to believe you stopped caring."

Cloud sighed, "You're right."

"And you being alone to worry about it is a heck of a lot worse then being able to keep an eye on me, isn't it?"

"Stop being so logical about this, it doesn't suit you."

Zack laughed, "Well if you're not going to be, I guess I have to."

"Zaacck."

"Stop running away. You know it just ends up making things worse instead of better. You don't have to deal with this alone." He kissed the top of Cloud's head. "If you aren't ready to talk about details, that's fine, I'll be here when you're ready, but promise me you won't just leave when I'm not home."

"Fine."

"A disgruntled 'fine' isn't much of a promise."

Cloud sighed, "I promise. Now will you cut me out of here already? I'd like to sneak out of here before Reno makes it past Seph."

Zack grinned. He'd been ignoring the faint sounds of arguing coming from behind the closed door. "You're not dodging a Turk lecture. They know where you live." He went back to work on the tape.

"Maybe we could move?"

"Actually, now that you've brought it up, Seph was asking if we would consider moving into his place."

"What?"

"I guess he's been enjoying having people around so much, and he does have a spare room. He's even thinking of getting a cat, and wants someone there with it when he's away."

"But what about Angeal and Genesis?" Cloud lifted his hands from the arm of the chair and held them up so Zack could get a better angle on the next layer of tape. 

"If they're staying over, they're sleeping in his room, and neither of them would ever give up their own place to stay full time. He's got a great security system. Hell, there's even Tseng down the hall if there's a real problem."

"I don't know who that is."

Zack paused, "Really? He's Reno's boss."

"So he'd be the guy reading Reno's paperwork? He must have a good sense of humour."

"Oh man, he's got you doing his paperwork doesn't he. Hah. What did you write?"

Cloud glanced at the door as the noise beyond it intensified. "No time. Let's get out of here."

Zack quickly finished with the last of the tape and Cloud made a mad dash for the air vent. "See you at home!"

Zack was still laughing when he opened the door to let the irate Turk in. 

Meanwhile Cloud had made his way through the maintenance tunnels to the outside. When he felt he was safely away, he turned on his PHS to message Jessie. /Hey, are you okay? I hope you got out before things went crazy./


	34. Today, Everything Was Fine Fine Fine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm totally not dead. Really.

They moved in on Wednesday, after several discussions about it and about what things they could comfortably put into storage. 

That Monday had involved a somewhat nervous message from Sephiroth confirming that he had indeed made the suggestion and would be happy if they accepted but would also understand if they did not. He wanted Cloud to know it was a serious offer. 

Tuesday involved a run in with Tseng in the hallway outside Sephiroth's apartment. The man thanked him for keeping Reno too busy to cause any mayhem of his own. ("It's about time he had to suffer what he puts the rest of us through," he'd said.)

It was the cat that had finally done it. Sephiroth was clearly clueless when it came to pets, and Zack had convinced Cloud he needed to step in for the good of all parties after Sephiroth had sent several questions about what kind of noodles cats like to eat and were there special utensils for them to use. 

The cat's name was Vix. Well, Victoria originally but apparently she'd only been called that when she was in trouble, and no one wanted to give her the wrong impression. Sephiroth had stared at the name tag for several minutes before declaring that the Roman numerals were out of order. The white ball of fluff seemed unperturbed by this. 

It was now Thursday, and Cloud had come home a bit early. A text from Zack informed him that he and Seph would be late getting in and to eat without them. A quick pot of pasta, and he was fed, with leftovers in the fridge for when the others got home. He grabbed his laptop and lay on the couch with the computer resting on his stomach. Vix leapt up onto his chest, perching on his collarbone and blocking his view of the screen. "No work?" Cloud asked as he scratched behind her ears. "Alright, no work yet."

Cloud startled awake at the sound of the front door closing. 

"Oh. Right. You live here now," Genesis said as he walked in. "Sit up for a moment."

Cloud gave him a quizzical look but did as asked. Genesis sat on the couch, put his feet up on the table, and then pulled Cloud back down so his head was resting on his lap. "Wha?"

"Shush. I've had a very long day. Go back to your work." He picked up the remote, starting to flip channels, as he absentmindedly played with Cloud's hair with his other hand. 

Cloud suppressed a happy sigh, not wanting to do anything that would make it stop. It felt nice. Very relaxing. It wasn't long before the laptop lay forgotten and he drifted off to sleep. 

Genesis pondered the laptop. Cloud had fallen asleep with it still logged into the Shinra server. It would be very easy to poke around, see what he could dig up. Cloud let out a soft snore. Genesis sighed and closed the lid of the computer before moving it to the side table. Freed from the added weight, the blond unconsciously rolled over, curling up against him. Genesis leaned his head against the back of the couch. A nap sounded very nice. It had been a very trying day. 

Genesis woke when the smell of blood reached him. He tapped Cloud on the shoulder till he woke. 

Cloud sat up and wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth. His face reddened when he realized where he had been sleeping and he started to apologize but Genesis held up a hand. A wet thump came from the direction of the balcony, followed by a familiar groan. 

"Sounds like the boys are in rough shape," Genesis said quietly, "we'd better go help them in." He pulled his PHS out to send a quick message as they made their way to the balcony. 

Cloud slid the door open, stumbling back as Sephiroth lunged towards him. Genesis grabbed the man's collar and redirected him into his own arms instead. "Leave the little bird to Zack, I've got you. Geal will be here soon." He half carried half dragged him inside and to his room, leaving a trail of dark blood along the carpet. 

Cloud stepped quickly out on the balcony. "Zack?"

"Over here, Spike. I could use a hand," Zack said, weariness filling his voice. 

Cloud knelt down beside where Zack lay on the concrete. Zack put his arms around Cloud's neck and he pulled him up as he stood. He grunted at how heavy Zack was to lift. He'd never had to move him when he was just dead weight. /Don't think of it like that. Just move./

He made it as far as the couch as he slowly walked backwards. He pulled the blanket off the back of the couch, draping it over the cushions to protect them from the mess, before falling onto it with Zack on top of him. 

"Rough day at work?"

Zack laughed, "Understatement of the week."

"Oh I'm sure we can top that, it's only Thursday," Cloud said with a grin. He slipped his arms under Zack's and pulled him up so he was resting his head on Cloud's shoulder. 

"I'd rather not," Zack said quietly. He nuzzled against Cloud's neck. 

"Go ahead, Zack. You need to feed. It'll help you heal."

Zack didn't ask if he was sure. He was in too much pain to argue, and by now he understood that Cloud did know what he was offering. He tangled the fingers of one hand into the spiky hair to steady himself and bit down. The first taste was enough to lift the fog of pain. It was sweet and warm and made him feel like he was home again. Zack knew it was something he would never get sick of, and hoped he would never do anything stupid enough to lose the privilege of it. 

Cloud let his eyes close. Zack was supporting his head well enough so he just relaxed and let the lightheaded feeling take hold. The combination of Mako, blood loss, and Zack's comforting weight was more than enough to bring about the blissful state he enjoyed so much. He could feel Zack's grip tighten and knew he was recovering. Distantly, he was aware of the front door opening and closing, and footsteps passing by. Angeal heading off to help Genesis with Sephiroth, he was sure. 

Zack finished feeding when he felt Cloud's breathing slow. He licked at the wound until it closed up, and rested his head against Cloud's shoulder again. They were both asleep in moments.


	35. This Devil's Sleeping in My Bed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to remember how to do this writing thing.

When Cloud woke it was in his own bed and he had no memory of getting there. The fact that this lack of memory did not concern him was in itself concerning to him. He'd gotten used to waking up in a different place than he'd fallen asleep. Assuming he even remembered the falling asleep part. Mako was a hell of a drug. And the blood loss probably didn't help. 

He was alone in the bedroom, but he could hear Zack talking softly in the kitchen. Which was odd. The door was closed, and sound didn't normally carry that well into the bedroom. He grabbed his phone, turning on the front facing camera, and chuckled. He was definitely working from home. There was no way he was going into the office with this much of a glow. Too many questions he didn't want to answer would surely come up. He sent off a quick email to Reeve, and another to Jessie and Biggs letting them know to call or email if they needed him. 

He switched on the bedside lamp, winced, and shut it off again. The light was much too bright for his over-sensitive vision. /Is this what it's like for them all the time?/ he wondered, resolving to be more considerate in the future with his light usage. 

Cloud pushed himself off the bed and to his feet, falling over with a loud thump immediately. He heard the talking in the other room stop and the sound of running footsteps. 

"Spike? Are you okay?"

Cloud groaned, "Yeah. I think I'll stay here for a while. It's a nice floor."

"It's only a nice floor for a few minutes," Zack chuckled, then picked him up, setting him back in the centre of the bed. He gently ran his fingers through Cloud's hair, checking for any bumps. "You didn't hit your head or anything, did you?" 

Cloud shook his head and instantly regretted it as the room spun. 

Zack sat down beside him and took hold of his chin, looking at this eyes. "You're not going out like this."

"Agreed. Already emailed that I was working from home."

"Well, I don't know about the work part but the home part is definitely right." Cloud grunted, closing his eyes. Zack kissed him on the forehead. "Stay right there, okay? I'm going to get you something to eat."

"Okay." He cracked one eye open. "Are you okay?"

Zack nodded, "You fixed me up good. Promise."

Cloud smiled, and drifted off to sleep again as Zack stroked his hair.

\--

Zack ignored Angeal following him as he returned to the kitchen, pulling a pack of bacon and some eggs from the fridge. 

"You took too much."

"I know," Zack said, without looking at his old mentor. 

"If Genesis hadn't been here, the two of you might have ended up killing him."

"I am well aware of that."

"And?"

Zack slammed the frying pan down on the stove. "What is it you want me to say?" He placed the bacon in the pan slice by slice until the surface was covered. He set the heat to low, and moved to the sink to wash his hands. "I'm doing the best I can."

"Are you?"

"Geal, I really don't feel like talking about this right now."

"When will you? When it's already too late?"

Zack gave Angeal the coldest glare he could manage. "Angeal, get the fuck out of our kitchen. Shouldn't you be looking after your boyfriends anyway?"

Angeal chuckled, "Point taken, pup. I'll get out of your way."

\--  
Zack set the plate and glass on the bedside table before sitting down on the bed. "Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey," he said quietly as he poked Cloud's shoulder. The blond stirred but didn't wake. "Hey, Cloud. Wake up buddy, you need to eat."

"Dunt wannu. Want snuggles." He grabbed Zack's arm and hugged it to him. 

Zack smiled, "All the snuggles you want. /After/ you have some food. Okay?"

"Okay." 

Zack picked up the plate and tried to pass it to Cloud, but instead of taking it he just opened his mouth. Zack grinned, "It's like that is it?" He stuck a corner of toast into Cloud's mouth and the blond ate it happily, resting his head against Zack. 

\--

Cloud fumbled groggily for his PHS when the ringing woke him. "Hello?"

"Y'know, you don't get to call in just because your boyfriend likes to eat you."

"Ugh. Reno. I am really too tired for your crap today."

"Too bad, snowflake. The world doesn't stop because you don't feel like getting on the ride."

"Why are you still hanging around anyway? I think at this point we can safely say they're not going to contact me. Shouldn't you move on to a new plan?"

"Oh we moved past that a while ago. We're already like three plans deep at this point. Maybe four. I don't really pay that much attention."

"And this somehow still involves you stalking me?"

"Stalking is such a harsh word. Makes it sound like you don't like it."

"I don't."

"Oh sure, it's all well and good when you want a dead body dealt with, but when everything isn't on fire it's an inconvenience."

Cloud sighed and rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Alright alright. You've made your point. Can we get to the part where you tell me what you want cause I've got a splitting headache already."

"A pony. But failing that, you, getting out to the balcony, and getting in my helicopter. Preferably now."

"Shit. What broke?"

"I don't hear the sound of you getting dressed. Though if you want to skip that part, that's fine with me."

"I'm going to hang up now."

"Spoil sport. Just hurry your ass up."

Cloud tossed the PHS on the bed and stumbled his way over to the closet. 

\--

Zack watched as Cloud made his way down the hallway, holding the wall to steady himself. "Spike?"

Cloud waved without turning, "Be back." And with that he disappeared onto the balcony. 

Zack followed after just in time to see his boyfriend grab a rope ladder dangling from a helicopter that was hovering just above the building. 

"Should he really be doing that?" Angeal commented as he leaned out the balcony door. 

Zack frowned at him, "Did you at any point see anyone asking my opinion? There's no stopping him when he's off to save the world."

"Save the world?" Angeal laughed. 

"There's probably a reactor going into meltdown somewhere."

"What?"

"It's like his specialty. Clearly you haven't been paying attention."

\--

Cloud sighed with relief as he slid on the headset Rude handed him. The helicopter was just so loud. The silence was bliss, until Reno shouted into the microphone just to irritate him. He glared at the pilot, but that just made the redhead laugh. 

"So where are we headed?" he asked. 

"To the office."

"The office. Why?"

"Paperwork."

Cloud blinked, "You seriously did not just drag me out here like it was an emergency just so you can avoid doing your own paperwork."

"Not exactly that, no."

Cloud leaned his head back against the wall and sighed, eyes closed. "You are such an asshole."

"And yet, I'm so damned lovable."

"Is there at least going to be coffee?"


	36. Looking for the Calm in the Storm that Approaches

"So let me just make sure I've got this right; I get to sit here and do your paperwork while you what, install extra spy cameras?"

"Think of it more as you're sitting there staying out of trouble while sifting through top secret documents. Makes it sound more fun."

"Fun. Right. What is this all for?"

"The grand masquerade," Reno said with a dramatic flourish of hands. 

"The what?"

"You've worked here how long and you don't know about this? Kids these days. Don't they teach you anything?" He glanced to Rude, who shrugged. "It's the biggest event of the year, every year. Hell, even Fair and the General have to go to it."

"Huh. Zack's never mentioned it. Alright, what are the different colours for?" He separated the three piles. 

"Green are previous guests. They're usually fine, just need a quick look. Yellow are people the brass want to invite. Red are the people who requested an invite through PR. Those are the ones that need the most thorough look."

"And what am I looking for?"

Reno shrugged. "Red flags. Anything that feels wrong. We don't want troublemakers crashing the party. You've had a few run ins with Avalanche, so if you recognize them, pull them out."

"Ah. Now this makes more sense. Mind you, most of the ones I ran into are dead."

"True, but unfortunately not all of them."

Cloud decided not to comment on that. He wasn't sure how he felt about the body count that had been building up around him lately. 

After sending a quick message to tell Zack where he was (and that nothing was exploding, so far), he poured a cup of coffee from the thermos on the table and drank it down. It helped to combat the drowsiness but it was like when he had tested Tifa's experiments with mixing alcohol and energy drinks. His nerves were on fire with a constant buzz that was trying to lull him to sleep. He added some painkillers to the mix to help with the headache that everything was causing and grabbed the first file. 

He spent half an hour on the green pile. They were all Shinra staff, some of them people he knew. He skimmed Seph and Zack's files as minimally as he could. It didn't feel right to invade their privacy, even if he was curious. He knew for sure they weren't Eco terrorists though. 

Then he started on the yellow ones. "Why do I have a file?"

Reno climbed down the ladder to grab the file from him, flipping through it. "Looks like Reeve wants you to go. I told you, they don't give you pants that make your ass look that good without planning to show you off."

"But I haven't been told about this."

"Well of course not. We have to clear everyone first." He turned to where his partner was still holding the ladder. "What do you think, Rude? I heard this one is a bit of a troublemaker."

"Oh shut up," Cloud said, reaching for the file. "I don't even want to go."

Reno tucked the file into his suit jacket. "It's mandatory for staff that are invited."

"That's not how 'inviting' people works. Can I have the file back?"

"It is when your boss invites you and no. No one gets to read their own file. Back to work." Reno shooed him then went back to the ladder, dragging it to another spot. 

Cloud grumbled while grabbing another file. This one turned out to be Genesis. It was marked as invited by Sephiroth. The one after that was Angeal, marked as invited by Zack. The notes showed this was an annual tradition. "If Genesis and Angeal get invited every year, why aren't they in green?"

"Well, they didn't really leave on good terms. I'm sure you've heard the story."

"Some of it."

"Mostly it's to review Genesis' behaviour. If he's been stirring up a lot of anti-Shinra shit again, the high ups won't let them come. Otherwise, well, they get to catch up with old friends who didn't leave with them."

"Ah. Makes sense." He flipped through a few a few more of the yellows before one caught his eye. "Well, I definitely wouldn't invite this one. He's Avalanche for sure."

"Toss it in the reject pile," Reno said as he wired another device into the ceiling. Rude tapped Reno's leg and pointed. Reno pulled a pair of screws out from between his lips and set them down on the ladder along with the screwdriver. "You're still in yellow?"

After Reno came over and started flipping though the file, Cloud pulled out his PHS again and sent a message to Zack. /I am such a shit friend. I didn't even ask if Seph was okay./

/He appreciates your concern and says he's fine. Don't worry about it. You weren't really all there this morning. How are you feeling?/

/I would really rather be in bed./

/So a typical day? :D /

/Oh shut up./

/Just come home and come back to bed. It's cozy and warm. And there's pizza on the way./

/I think Reno might kill me if I tried leaving./

/I think you can take him, you're badass. And he likes you so he might hesitate. :D/

/A Turk hesitate? Doubtful. I can't be stuck here too much longer, it's almost the end of the work day. Save me some pizza./

"You do realize you could go on to the next file instead of slacking off, right?"

/Shit. How long was he watching?/ Cloud thought as he shoved his PHS back in his pocket. He grabbed the next file in the yellow pile. 

Another hour passed before he was down to the last few red files. He leaned back and rubbed his eyes. "Hey, did you lose Rude?" he asked, noticing the red-headed Turk was lounging at one of the table alone. 

"Don't you worry your pretty lil head about it," came the reply. 

Cloud shrugged and picked up the next file. He recognized the person inside. "Is someone going to go through these after me?"

Reno glanced over past his magazine. "Yeah, Tseng will check over your work."

"Okay, good." He dropped Mason's file in the approved pile. 

The door opened and Cloud scrunched his face at the smell of fire and blood that floated in, with Rude behind it. He looked perfectly clean. Typical Turk. 

"All good?" Reno asked. Rude nodded. "Alright. Finish up kid, and we'll drop you off at home on our way out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some cooperation. I've been trying to get to the lead up to this event for a while. It's the one part I've written bits ahead for and we're almost there.


	37. Awakening with You

There was no pizza left when Cloud got home, but there was some more on the way. 

Zack met him at the balcony to tell him, catching him as he descended the last section of the dangling rope ladder. He waved to Rude, and the helicopter flew off again. 

"You didn't have to order more, I could have just made something for dinner," Cloud said as he followed Zack inside. 

"Nah uh," Zack said. "I said there would be pizza, so there will be pizza. So how was your paperwork date? I'm glad you weren't in your office."

"Why's that?"

Zack frowned, "Kunsel said there had been some kind of explosion in that part of the building."

It was Cloud's turn to frown. "I didn't know. Is everyone okay?" He thought back to the smell when Rude had returned to where he and Reno were working. 

"As far as he knew, the place was empty. I guess when the supervisor doesn't show up, neither do their underlings," Zack grinned. 

"I'm skeptical, but if it means no one was hurt, I'll accept it."

"You don't think your team are a bunch of slackers when unsupervised?"

"No."

"Do you want me to make some calls?"

Cloud shook his head, "If Kunsel said no one was there, he's probably right. And if I don't have an office anymore, I can deal with it Monday. For now I just want pizza and movies in bed with you, and you can tell me about this stupid masquerade thing."

Zack's face lit up, "Oh did you get invited?"

Cloud nodded, "Why didn't you ever tell me about it?"

"We only get one invitation to give, and I couldn't take you, even just as a friend. I wasn't sure how to explain why I couldn't."

"I suppose your situation is just a tiny bit complicated with all the secrets and conspiracies and the eating people."

Zack laughed, "I think you're getting worse than me at this point, with all the time you've been spending with Turks." Zack stopped as a soft knock was heard at the front door. "Pizza must be here. You go set up a movie, whatever you feel like watching." 

Cloud sat down on the bed to pull off his boots, carefully setting them upright so as not to dislodge the blades hidden in them. They went in the bottom of the closet on a mat, and his uniform was hung off to the side. They didn't usually come back in such good shape. After tossing on the softest pair of pyjamas he could find in the drawer, he clambered into bed and turned on the tv. 

The pizza on the bed beside him was cold when he woke, with Zack tightly spooned against his back and an arm over his side to hold him close. Cloud grabbed a slice from the box and ate it without getting up. Snoring continued from behind him. After a couple slices he restarted the movie, which had been looping on the menu for Gaia knew how long, and went back to sleep. It was the weekend now. 

They munched on the leftover pizza when they woke up and tossed another movie in. It was noon before there was a timid knock on the door. 

"Come in," Zack called. 

The door opened just enough for Sephiroth to poke his head in. "Just checking if everyone is still alive in here."

Cloud chuckled, "Yep, all good. There's a couple pieces of pizza left too, if you want some." He tilted the box to show the remaining slices. 

Sephiroth closed the door behind him and took a seat on end of the bed. Cloud pushed the food closer to him. 

"We're just watching movies. You're welcome to stay if you're interested. Generic action flicks," Zack said. 

"You can use the tv in the other room. The screen is much bigger," Sephiroth suggested. 

"Cozier here," Cloud said, gesturing to the empty spot beside him. "Scooch up here. Unless you've still got company over?"

Sephiroth shook his head. "They've gone out on a 'date night'." He moved to the side of the bed and took the offered place. 

The bed was wide enough for the three of them to sit side by side against the headboard. Once everyone had settled in, Zack pressed play on the remote, and then flopped over, laying across the other two with his head in Sephiroth's lap. "Mmm. Much cozier."

Cloud laughed, "why are you so weird?" Zack wiggled his butt in response. "So tell me about this masquerade already."

"Oh, are you coming?" Sephiroth asked. 

Zack nodded, "Yep! Reeve's dragging him there. And I have the perfect costume." 

"You do?" Cloud asked. Zack grinned at him. "You're not going to tell me, are you."

"Nope," Zack said, grin widening. "But it's perfect."

Cloud shook his head with a sigh, "Figured. Oh well. So what does everyone else go as? Do you do the same every year?"

"Pretty much. It's easier that way," Zack said. "Gen, Ang, and Seph go in matching ones."

"It was Genesis' idea," Sephiroth explained, "based off that persona he runs at his club."

Cloud's eyes widened, "He goes as Red Leather?"

Zack laughed, "You are such a nerd. That's what you go for, not the whole vampires dressing as vampires bit."

Cloud swatted him, "Shush. So what do you go as?"

"You'll have to wait to see."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did... did we actually get a mostly fluffy and happy chapter? Is this a thing that actually happened?


	38. Let the Bodies Hit the Floor (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breaking this into two chapters before it gets stupid long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn’t notice the new tag previously, this is your warning. 
> 
> This is a bit choppy, as it’s written over a period of months, but we’re close to the end so pushing onwards.

"You have got to be kidding," Cloud said as he pulled the yellow feathered mask out of the bag. A week had passed, and he'd almost forgotten Zack was picking his costume. This was not what he expected, but he probably should have with how long he'd known Zack. 

It felt strange getting ready for a party when only hours before he had been trying to comfort a distraught friend. He'd helped to mop up the splattered blood and broken teeth, while Barret dragged out any of the drunk Avalanche members that Tifa had left unable to walk out, which was most of them. Bragging about how they'd blackmailed Jessie into working with them, and how she'd stupidly gotten herself killed setting up a bomb in his office, had nearly gotten them all killed by the grieving bartender. They certainly wouldn't be making it out alive if they ever came back. They wouldn't have tonight if Barrett hadn't stepped in. 

Cloud was trying not to think about it too hard. Either Jessie had killed herself intentionally, or Rude had done the job. Neither option sat well with him, and either way it was his fault. He hadn't been able to look Tifa in the eye, though she was a bit too distracted to notice. 

"Hey Spike, you okay?"

Cloud blinked at Zack. "Yeah?"

"You zoned out on me. If you're not feeling well-"

"I'm fine," he said, "just a little tired. Long day."

"We can bail on this if you're not up to it," Zack said, his expression turning serious. 

Cloud shook his head, "I don't want to disappoint the boss."

"Sure it's not just cause you don't want to miss Red Leather in action?" Zack teased. 

"Oh shut up and go get ready," Cloud replied, swatting at him as he dodged towards the bathroom. Zack kept grinning as he slammed the door closed behind him. 

Cloud set about pulling out the rest of the chocobo accessories. Zack had done a good job of picking things that would fit over his uniform, which was something Reeve had insisted on. This was still a publicity event, not just a social one. 

The tail feathers were attached to a waist band that was made of a stretchy elastic. Cloud was grateful Zack had remembered the lack of belt loops on the suit. (Don’t want anything that can catch on something when you’re crawling through a reactor, Cloud had explained.) The way the feathers stood out behind him would take some getting used to. He experimented a bit and found that they would fold upwards fairly easily so that he could still sit down. The “wings” were a pair of long cuffs that slid over his sleeves up to his elbows, sporting several layers of yellow feathers. They matched his hair surprisingly well. Next out of the bag were a pair of boot covers which clipped on easily around the ankle.

He put on the mask and looked in the mirror. The contrast between the yellow feathers and the black clothing made for an interesting look that he reluctantly admitted was pretty good. Still, it was a damned chocobo. He found himself wondering what his team would think of it, and quickly pushed the thought away before his eyes started to water. He hadn’t told Zack the details of his day, and if he walked out there crying, there’d be no avoiding the question. He set the mask on the counter so he could splash some water on his face. His eyes glowed back at him from his reflection, and gave him no answers. 

“Spike,” Zack called, knocking on the door. “You ready? Car’s here.”

Cloud dried his face, picked up the mask, and left the bathroom. 

Zack was waiting just outside the door, his concerned look seeming out of place beneath the dog ear headband. Cloud burst out laughing. “I should have guessed.” He pushed past him into the living room. 

Zack followed after him, pretending to bite at the tail feathers hanging down over his ass. Cloud shook his head, still laughing. The ridiculousness of it was just what he needed to disguise how he was feeling. 

When the car pulled up outside the ShinRa tower, they found the others waiting for them. Cloud blushed when he saw Genesis in his full Red Leather getup, leaning against the wall dramatically. It was just like 90% of the fan art. Zack saw his reaction and chuckled. “Should I be jealous?”

Cloud swatted him with the back of his hand. “Get out of the damn car.”

“Oh? Do you need some privacy?” Zack said, waggling his eyebrows. 

“Oh Gaia, would you just... hurry up. We’re going to be late.” He gave Zack a shove towards the car door once Angeal had opened it from the outside. Zack laughed again as he held out a hand for Angeal to help him out. Once standing, he offered a hand to Cloud. Cloud ignored it. 

“Well well, if it isn’t the birdbrain and the mutt, finally showing their true selves.”

“I’m in too good of a mood to put up with you right now, Reno,” Zack said without turning. 

“Good for you that I don’t want you then,” Reno said, pushing past the soldier. “Come on, kid, we’ve got things to go over.”


End file.
